Governance and Politics - 19 June 2024
19 Jun 2024
Government of National Unity
Whatever happens, the country’s future will be one that demands co-operation between political groupings that have hitherto been at seemingly irreconcilable odds with one another, and which enter this phase of history with very little mutual trust. Still, South Africa’s people and political factions remain locked in what has been termed ‘fatal intimacy’, an often-reluctant co-dependence on one another. The dominance of the ANC has held off the need to accommodate this in the country’s politics, but co-operation is now a reality that cannot be deferred any longer. Getting it right and getting it right in a manner that gives the country a chance at a worthwhile future, will demand three things. Trust, Expertise, Ideology. (Source)
The Progressive Caucus
A newly formed parliamentary grouping includes the EFF, UDM, African Transformation Movement and other smaller parties. The MK Party will join the Progressive Caucus, a newly formed parliamentary grouping representing about 13% of the National Assembly. (Source)
The Centre for Development and Enterprise says cabinet must be pruned: The size of the cabinet must be reduced significantly, and the presidency overhauled when the new government comes into being. These, the think tank says, are important steps towards fixing South Africa’s weak state. It proposes a smaller, more effective cabinet of about 20 ministers instead of the current 30. (Source)
GNU. Under the terms of the deal, the coalition members elected Cyril Ramaphosa (ANC) as president, Thoko Didiza (ANC) as speaker of the National Assembly, and Annelie Lotriet (DA) as deputy speaker. President Ramaphosa is now tasked with constituting a cabinet, in which the coalition parties – also including the Patriotic Alliance and potentially some smaller parties – are expected to be given cabinet positions approximately reflecting their numerical ratios. The ANC-DA-IFP deal has profound consequences. Agreement at national level is cascading to provincial level and is expected to cascade further, to local government level. The losers in this process are the radical EFF and MKP, as well as smaller parties that have acted as kingmakers in various legislative bodies in recent years. For example, MKP has been shut out of the Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial government, thanks to a deal between the ANC, DA, IFP and National Freedom Party. In Gauteng, the EFF has been shut out by an ANC-DA coalition. In Johannesburg, the job of the mayor is on the line as the minor party he represents, Al Jama-ah, gets squeezed out. This process represents an overwhelming consolidation of political power at the centre. The CRA, Risk Analysis, 18 June 2024
GNU. Thoko Didiza has been overwhelmingly elected as speaker of the National Assembly. The DA did not make a nomination for the position of speaker in terms of its government of national unity agreement and supported Didiza who won 284 votes of 332 valid votes. There were nine spoilt ballot papers. The position of speaker is very powerful as he/she sets the tone and agenda of parliament and plays a crucial role in the way debates are managed. Previous speakers often ruled in favour of the ruling ANC. Excluding the 58 MK candidates, the total number of MPs is 342. The ANC has 159 seats in the National Assembly, DA 87, EFF 39, IFP 17, Patriotic Alliance 9, FF+ and ActionSA six each, ACDP and UDM three each, ATM Al Jama-ah, Bosa, NCC and Rise Mzansi two each, and Good, PAC and UAT one each. (Source)
Government of National Unity (GNU). The ANC and the DA have signed a framework agreement to form a GNU. The agreement will include the IFP. The document was signed by party representatives on 14 June 2024 during a break of the first sitting of the National Assembly at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. It follows seven days of intense negotiations on South Africa's future after last month's national election in which the ANC lost its majority. Fikile Mbalula, the ANC's secretary general, signed the document on behalf of his party, while Helen Zille signed on behalf of the DA. The agreement includes clauses that will guide the composition of Cabinet, as well as that of the provincial governments in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. It details the executive decision-making process, a conflict-breaking mechanism, and provides guidelines for policymaking and the finalisation of the national budget. (Source)
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