‘This is not a scramble for positions’: GNU deal as good as done

The DA is set to form part of the cabinet expected to be announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa after two weeks of negotiations and bickering between the party and the ANC.

The Sunday Times understands DA leaders are likely to endorse a deal for six cabinet posts and several deputy minister positions at a FedEx meeting today.

The DA this weekend relented on its demand for the ministry of trade, industry & competition and accepted agriculture instead, but without land reform. 

The latest offer, made by Ramaphosa during a meeting with Steenhuisen on Friday, is said to have found favour among top DA leaders.

The deal comes as the ANC faced pressure from the EFF on Saturday to exclude the DA from the government of national unity.

But all indications were that Ramaphosa is likely to announce his cabinet on Sunday.

Asked for comment on Saturday, Steenhuisen said: “The past few days have seen renewed progress, but we are not over the line yet.”

DA federal council chair Helen Zille told the Sunday Times that negotiations had improved, but nothing had been finalised.

“We are cautiously optimistic that there could be an agreement before the end of the weekend,” she said. “However, as usual in these circumstances, much can go wrong over the next 36 hours.

“If we do end with a deal, it will not be what the ANC wanted and it will not be what we wanted. But there will be enough to give us a real shot at exercising a powerful influence inside government and of running some crucial portfolios.”

Acting ANC spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi said the party was “happy with the attitude of most political parties and the rest of society. We have been receiving positive responses across the board”.

The DA initially wanted the ministry of trade & industry as it is at the centre of the economy, but the ANC refused.

Ramaphosa has offered the DA cabinet positions in agriculture, home affairs, basic education, public works & infrastructure, communications & digital technologies and forestry, fisheries & environment.

With the agreement set to be concluded, Steenhuisen and his party are now resolving who to deploy as cabinet ministers.

Steenhuisen is a shoo-in to Ramaphosa’s cabinet.

Among DA front-runners to join him in cabinet is his special adviser and shadow minister of public service & administration, Leon Schreiber, who is armed with a PhD in political science.

Dean Macpherson, a trusted Steenhuisen ally, is also one of the DA MPs being considered for appointment to cabinet.

DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube, who holds honours in political science and governance, is also among those set to be considered for cabinet appointment.

The party’s national spokesperson, Solly Malatsi, another holder of an honours degree in politics, is also in the running, along with DA head of policy Mathew Cuthbert who also boasts a master’s degree in politics.

Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen met on Friday to discuss the impasse caused when the president reneged on a previous offer to appoint a DA minister to trade & industry and instead offered tourism.

Sources say Ramaphosa has swapped tourism for agriculture, but the department will be split from land reform. Another ministry expected to be split is mineral resources and energy.

DA insiders said agriculture was more appealing than tourism because it had a greater economic leverage and a bigger on the ground impact.

“It seems a deal is within reach, but it is still subject to a FedEx (federal executive) decision,” said a source. FedEx is expected to meet on Sunday afternoon and would sign off on the names of potential cabinet ministers.

Party sources say Steenhuisen and Ramaphosa were yet to discuss names of the potential ministers and deputies.

Steenhuisen on Saturday confirmed engagements were ongoing and reiterated that the DA was committed to finding a solution that put the interests of South Africans first.

The party had earlier accepted Ramaphosa’s offer to appoint its members as deputy ministers in finance, energy and electricity, small business development, higher education, trade & industry and water & sanitation.

Both parties have had to compromise as the ANC initially offered the DA three portfolios, while the party asked for 10.

Perhaps pressure from the delay of forming government worked on both parties getting closer to finding each other. The delay in announcing the cabinet has also affected the work of parliament, with the National Assembly failing to constitute portfolio committees this week as this is subject to the announcement of a cabinet.

It has been a week of high drama, with the parties exchanging heated letters about preferred cabinet positions. Correspondence from both parties was leaked to the media, revealing cracks in the GNU plan even before a government had been formed.

Ramaphosa is also likely to offer positions in his executive to other partners in the GNU, including the IFP, the PA and the Good party. The IFP is likely to get a maximum of two cabinet positions.

The IFP on Saturday said they would not discuss their share of cabinet or deputy minister positions until an announcement is made.

“Whatever deal can be on the table — it remains the prerogative of the president to announce the cabinet — it will be grossly irresponsible for any political party to say this is what we are getting, this is not a scramble for positions,” IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa said.

ANC sources within the negotiating team told the Sunday Times the IFP would either get two cabinet positions or one plus a deputy minister.

Good party’s Patricia de Lille told the Sunday Times that she has not had any discussions on positions.

“We certainly respect the prerogative of the president to decide on all cabinet positions,” she said.

“President Ramaphosa comes with the experience of having led negotiations during the days of Codesa as well as the peace negotiations in Ireland. He’s got a lot of experience and I think people are underestimating his experience as a negotiator.

“And now we’ve seen the letter he sent to the DA and I must say I’ve never seen President Ramaphosa angry, he's got a way of telling you off in a nice way.”

Rise Mzansi spokesperson Mabine Seabe said his party remains a member of the GNU and would not be appointed into Ramaphosa’s cabinet.

“From our end we haven't made any request for positions and we haven’t been offered any positions. Ours is to work in parliament and that’s what we’ve been elected to do,” said Seabe.

The EFF on Saturday made a last-minute attempt to convince the ANC to get into a coalition with them instead of the GNU with the DA and nine other political parties.

This came in a form of a letter from the EFF secretary-general Marshall Dlamini to the ANC’s Fikile Mbalula following their meeting on Friday.

In the letter, the EFF makes a plea to the ANC for a coalition arrangement that excludes the DA and the FF+.

As part of its promises, the EFF committed that it would never work with the DA to oust the ANC government. It said its arrangement with the ANC had been successful in hung metros, especially in Gauteng and that “the EFF has not turned against its commitments despite the ANC not honouring its commitments in full”.