With South Africa’s recent conclusion of the highly anticipated elections, the country is yet again to be governed by the Government of National Unity (GNU).
This comes after the political parties that were contesting for National and Provincial elections failed to garner enough votes to constitute a government on its own.
The last time the country experienced the government of unity was in 1994 after the country’s first democratic elections.
At the time, three political parties that formed part of the coalition government were the National Party (NP) and the IFP, led by the ANC.
This GNU aimed to promote national unity, rebuild the country, and address the social and economic inequalities created by apartheid.
Thirty years later, there are talks of going into coalition with the same organisations apart from the DA, which in this case would replace the NP.
According to reports, the coalition between these three organisations would stabilise the country and the economy.
However, there are some ANC members who strongly oppose the move as they claim there is nothing in common between the ANC and DA.
A top senior ANC member, who requested anonymity, told ‘The Star’ on Tuesday that the two organisations differed fundamentally when it came to ideology, therefore it didn’t make sense for them to work together.
The senior member said he feared that the party’s leadership was leaning towards the coalition with the DA, adding that this was the same arrogance that got the party in the predicament it found itself in.
“We have nothing in common with the DA, this party doesn’t have the best interest of our people at heart, they are only here to serve the agenda and interest of the minority. We’re again saying, there’s nothing we can talk with the DA if they continue doing what they have done, than goodbye to the ANC NEC. MKP will finish us off,” the frustrated member told the publication.
Venting his frustration on X, ANC National Executive Member Andile Lungisa said he was disappointed by the “so called” revolutionaries who were speaking in “forked tongues” on the DA-ANC matter.
Lungisa said this was because these “revolutionaries” were promised cushy jobs.
“Super-revolutionaries are speaking with forked tongues trying to legitimise an alliance with the white supremacist DA in the name of ‘stability’. They have been given plenty of silver coins and promised positions of importance in the new alliance of masters and slaves.”
Solly Phetoe, general secretary of Cosatu, the party’s biggest federation’s partner, said the federation had not formulated a view on the matter as they would be meeting on Wednesday.
Phetoe said the federation would communicate its position on coalition after they had consulted with their structures.
“We will pronounce our position, the coalition government is not guaranteed in particular for workers. It would need very serious engagement and proper management, including motoring agreement, for us as workers. It has been very bad for municipal workers, coalition has suspended service delivery in our communities,” Phetoe said.
The Star