‘Coalition more cohesive, determined, and focused than ever before’ – GNU leaders

A letter issued on behalf of all the parties within the Government of National Unity (GNU) says that the governing coalition is united and strong following a two-day retreat at the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng.

“The leaders were clear that the GNU is now more cohesive, determined, and focused than ever before,” the letter reads.

“All parties reaffirmed their full commitment to the GNU as a reflection of the will of voters and as an instrument to advance the interests of all South Africans.”

It was also agreed that the leaders would meet more frequently to provide strategic political direction to the work of the GNU.

This was the first time in months that the leaders of all ten parties in the coalition had met, and one of the few times they had done so since the GNU’s formation in 2024.

After the African National Congress lost its overall majority in last year’s national elections, dropping to 40%, a coalition was formed to enable it to remain in government.

Thus, it was joined by the Democratic Alliance, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Patriotic Alliance, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, the GOOD Party, Rise Mzansi, Al Jama-ah, and the Freedom Front Plus.

All leaders were present at the retreat, except for Gayton McKenzie, leader of the Patriotic Alliance. GOOD Party leader Patricia de Lille was also absent; however, she was represented by her secretary-general, Brett Herron.

The letter stated that although progress has been made over the past 16 months since the coalition’s formation, this progress needs to be accelerated.

To this end, the leaders agreed that urgent attention needs to be given to several key areas, including the professionalisation of the public service and the development of a food security plan.

Tending to the youth unemployment problem was also listed, alongside intensifying the fight against gangsterism and organised crime, and appointing ethical leadership in the justice system.

The dire state of several municipalities also came to the fore, as it was decided that the national and provincial governments need to intervene where they fail to fulfil their mandates.

It was also decided that the country needs to undertake a comprehensive response to illegal immigration and improve the oversight of state-owned enterprises.

It has been reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa is unhappy with parties in the GNU challenging various government policies.

The DA and VF Plus, for example, have frequently publicly challenged laws such as the Expropriation Act and, more recently, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act.

GNU has achieved less than 2% of its goals

While the letter states that “significant progress has been made” by the governing coalition in achieving its goals, FF+ leader Corne Mulder suggested otherwise.

In an August interview with Newsday, he said he had attended a gathering where the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, spoke about the governing coalition’s progress.

“She said that if we are honest, the GNU has not achieved 2% of the goals set a year ago,” Mulder said. “This basically means that the GNU has been a failure.”

Lack of communication has threatened the GNU

Mulder told Newsday during the same interview that the coalition is in serious trouble due to a lack of communication between parties.

“Let me try to put it this way. If I explained exactly how the GNU should function, I can assure you it operates in the opposite way,” he said.

“If you want to have a successful coalition where people buy into the same process, you have to have continuous communication and interaction between the leaders because the leaders take responsibility towards their parties.”

He provided the example of the GNU’s clearing-house mechanism that tends to resolve conflict within the coalition.

However, the committee responsible for this, chaired by the Deputy President, has only met once this year, which is ongoing in Mogale City.

This is despite the GNU encountering numerous instances of conflict caused by stark ideological and policy differences, such as the budget vote, Black Economic Empowerment, and relations with the US.

According to the South African Legal Academy, the first meetings of the clearing house appeared to be a waste of time, as no resolutions were reached and fundamental disagreements remained.