GNU anchored in ANC-led policies

South Africa’s 10-party coalition, the Government of National Unity (GNU), “is anchored in African National Congress (ANC)-led policies and programmes.”

This is according to a statement issued by the ANC on 26 August, adding that it “remains the central and stabilising force in the GNU.”

The recent statement by the largest party that the GNU “is anchored in ANC-led policies” reflects the ANC’s dominant role in shaping the coalition’s agenda, despite its reduced electoral mandate.

The GNU is a broad coalition formed after the 2024 general elections when the ANC lost its three-decade long majority, receiving 40% of the vote.

GNU partners, the ANC, DA, IFP, PA, FF Plus, UDM, RISE Mzansi, PAC, Al Jama-ah and GOOD, collectively hold 287 out of 400 seats in Parliament. The largest parties in the bloc, the ANC and DA, make up 246 (~86%) of these seats.

The GNU has said that its three main strategic priorities: to promote inclusive growth and create jobs, to reduce poverty and address the high cost of living, and to develop a capable, ethical, and developmental state. 

The ANC argues this reflects its policies, with priorities rooted in the National Development Plan, and programmes “including the Presidential Employment Stimulus, SRD Grant, expanded school nutrition schemes, and energy reforms.”

While the GNU incorporates some of the coalition partner’s push for market-friendly reforms, tensions remain over issues such as deregulation, foreign policy, privatisation, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and land expropriation.

GNU is the ‘ANC in drag’ – Mbeki

The ANC says it will not abandon policies like BEE and land expropriation, even as the US imposes tariffs and threatens sanctions, arguing that Washington, the DA and others are “punishing South Africa for its transformation agenda.”

With some GNU partners dissenting, the ANC said it will “continue to review structural arrangements to ensure stability” by bringing in other parties.

Political economist Moeletsi Mbeki has been sharply critical, calling the GNU “the ANC in drag” for maintaining the status quo of past ANC administrations.

He said the ANC prioritised the African middle class through BEE, preferential procurement, a bloated public sector and employment equity.

However, he said it “alienated the urban African working class and rural poor,” leaving structural issues like stagnation and unemployment unresolved.

He argued BEE enriched a narrow elite while discouraging innovation, with corruption compounding the problem.

This, he said, led to the ANC’s decline from 70% support two decades ago to 40% in 2024: “The ANC and their policies were rejected by the majority of the country … a number of policies that were very destructive to the South African economy.”

Mbeki said there was hope the DA would push policy change, but “the expectation of the country was that the DA was going to use this leverage to change the policies that the population was unhappy about.”

Instead, after talks, the DA backed ANC leadership without demanding significant policy concessions.

They “have not brought about any real change in the policies of the ANC,” he said. “So that’s why I said the government of national unity is just the ANC in drag.”

Lack of consensus building threatens breakdown

Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) leader Dr Corné Mulder has said that the GNU, which his party is currently a part of, is in serious trouble due to a lack of communication between parties.

“If I explained exactly how the GNU should function, I can assure you it operates in the opposite way,” he told Newsday.

He noted that GNU leaders have met only twice this year, while the executive meets regularly without all parties present.

“The moment I became leader, we informed the President … you have to talk to me, and not Groenewald. So the fact that he doesn’t is unfortunate and one of the reasons I believe the GNU is in serious trouble.”

Mulder criticised the lack of interaction mechanisms, saying the clearing-house committee chaired by the Deputy President “has not met once this year” despite conflicts over the budget vote and US relations.

“If you want to have a successful coalition … you have to have continuous communication and interaction … if you don’t have that, it will break down.”

He said leaders had called for a bospraat: “sit around a campfire, have a braai, and learn more about each other,” but the idea stalled.

While Mulder supports GNU participation, he warned it is not unconditional: “If it becomes clear that we are merely co-opted … I need to ask myself, what are we doing here.”

“I can assure you at this stage we are under huge pressure from our constituency to walk away.”