Monethi Mosoeunyane
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on a Government of National Unity (GNU) painted a picture of a united front, a coalition of parties willing to put South Africa first.
He emphasised the need for cooperation, suggesting that the diverse voices in the GNU could forge a path to progress.
According to Ramaphosa, the GNU is a response to a call for collective action to tackle the country’s pressing challenges and realise the people’s aspirations.
However, what is not discussed, highlighted or emphasized, is the increasing aggression on the part of the Democratic Alliance (DA), and what is seemingly becoming clear as a specific agenda to clamp down on any members of the GNU who are not with the agenda.
First it was the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Despite initial doubts concerning the ability of the party leader, Mzwanele Nyhontso, in his role as Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, the party leader attempted to maintain the PAC’s core ideological drive – the land.
However, he was very quickly put in his place, with a quiet but stern reminder that any radical ideas concerning returning the land was “against the norms and values” of the GNU’s Statement of Intent (SoI).
Next is Al Jama-ah. The power in Johannesburg is on the move.
The current mayor Kabelo Gwamanda is presently facing the potential loss of the ANC support and removal from his mayoral post – an action not only against the very same norms and values of the GNU’s SoI, but also threatening possible upheavals in the national and provincial governments.
It emerged that the understanding relating to the position of Jozi mayor, was that it belonged to the ANC, and that Al Jama-ah would merely occupy it.
Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks initially defended the mayor, with the party denying rumours, claiming the securing of the mayoral post was one of the conditions sealing the party’s participation in the GNU.
However, he subsequently reversed his stance and said his party was prepared to be redeployed.
“As we stand at the moment if the ANC finds a suitable candidate that all political parties agree with then Al Jama-Ah would be quite happy if they tell us thank you very much we would like to redeploy the value of Al Jama-Ah in another particular area,” Hendricks said.
Rumours claim that the recent teaming up of the ANC and ActionSA indicated a betrayal by the former of its GNU partner.
To complicate matters further, reports have arisen that indicated there were members of the government of local unity (GLU) who agreed with ActionSA’s drive to remove him.
Currently, the City of Johannesburg was under the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance (PA) and minority parties, under the leadership of Al Jama-ah’s Gwamanda.
Recently, the GLU has increasingly been at odds with itself, which has been exacerbated since the formation of the national GNU, which excludes some of the key GLU partners, including the EFF.
The cracks were visible in Johannesburg when the EFF opted not to vote with its coalition partners, particularly on the proposal of a R2.5 billion loan from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), spearheaded by the ANC, which caused some friction among coalition partners.
Gwamanda is expected to resign to allow the ANC’s regional chair, Dada Morero, to be elected to the post after an agreement between the party and ActionSA to co-govern the metro.
In addition, the current speaker, African Independent Congress (AIC)’s Margaret Arnolds, is expected to vacate her position to be transferred to a MEC position in Morero’s cabinet.
The DA in Johannesburg said that the removal of Gwamanda from the mayoral office was not enough, suggesting that the whole municipal council should be dissolved.
There are 270 seats in the council, and a two-thirds majority is required to successfully dissolve the House.
Despite not having the numbers to pass the motion, the DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said that the dissolution of the council was the best shot at stabilising the city.
“If the mayor is removed, we are going to sit with the same problem in a few months time. So the merry-go-round for mayors is a challenge for the DA. We are of the view that the city seriously needs to consider the dissolution of the council,” she said.
A by-election would have to be held to elect a new council unless the MEC responsible for local government decides the dissolution must stand until the next local government election.
It would seem that the ANC is doing all in its power to placate an increasingly determined DA, no matter the cost, and what smaller parties are thrown by the wayside.
By all indications, its just a matter of time before the realities of GNU and collapse is inevitable.
Mosoeunyane is a writer and columnist.