ANC MPs have thrown down the gauntlet to the party’s leadership, demanding that the “misbehaving” DA be dumped from the government of national unity and that smaller parties be brought in to achieve a majority.
Insiders told the Sunday Times that more than 100 MPs — about two-thirds of the total number — confronted secretary-general Fikile Mbalula at a hostile meeting convened at short notice in Johannesburg on Friday.
Mbalula had called the meeting ostensibly to update the caucus on the party’s strategy on the budget, which is due to be tabled for a third time on May 21.
But several MPs, citing the DA’s opposition to the first two versions of the budget, questioned why the ANC was sticking with the GNU as it is now constituted.
They cited President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks that by opposing the budget the DA had “defined itself out of the GNU”, and that the DA had driven itself into a cul de sac.
We told the SG that this [the DA] is the party that continues to undermine the government, and it has done nothing to show that it is willing to work with us
— ANC caucus insider
They also referred to the DA’s latest court move to challenge the Employment Equity Amendment Act as another reason to ditch John Steenhuisen’s party.
“Going to the courts to challenge the employment act is further proof that we cannot be in this coalition,” one source said.
“We told the SG that this is the party that continues to undermine the government, and it has done nothing to show that they are willing to work with us.
“They have taken the National Health Insurance to court, we had to bend (sic) over to accommodate them with Bela [Basic Education Law Amendment], they have challenged the budget, what more proof does the leadership need? We want them out,” this MP said.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri confirmed the meeting had taken place but said caucus deliberations are not for public consumption. “Further, the ANC does not offer commentary on leaks,” she said.
The meeting became so tense at one point that Deputy President Paul Mashatile and ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe lashed out at Mbalula for having arrived an hour late and having kept them waiting. Later, Mantashe is said to have walked out of the meeting while Mbalula was speaking.
“The chief whip [Mdumiseni Ntuli] had to deliver the report on the budget process, which was supposed to be delivered by the SG,” the source said.
“That irritated the chairperson, the deputy president and the caucus. Mbalula arrived late, and it signalled to us that he has no respect for our time.
“He addressed the caucus, but the problem was that he was addressing people who were fed up. Mantashe can’t tolerate Mbalula anymore, he told him when he arrived, ‘You are exactly an hour late, SG.’”
Another MP said Mbalula had apologised for his tardiness, saying he was delayed by a meeting with his counterparts from other countries on the continent.
Responding to questions from the Sunday Times, Mantashe said: “Hayibo! Tell your informers to tell you everything.”
Referring to moves to expel her party from the GNU, DA federal council chair Helen Zille said: “We have heard nothing official about it.”
The bubbling rebellion in the ANC caucus indicates that unhappiness about the partnership with the DA is reaching a critical point.
“MPs were clear that the DA had undermined the GNU and the ANC. The MPs came to the meeting with a uniform approach to call for the DA to be removed,” one of those at the meeting told the Sunday Times.
The ANC has been under growing internal pressure to kick the DA out of the GNU after it rejected the budget due to the proposed VAT hike — initially two percentage points (pp), and then two hikes of 0.5pp — and then successfully challenged the tax increase in court.
In negotiations over the issue, the DA had linked its support for the budget to concessions it wanted on other issues such as NHI and the Expropriation Act.
According to several insiders, Mbalula called the meeting on Friday after having caught wind that a rebellion was afoot among MPs.
The caucus sentiment on the GNU is said to have the support of some of the ANC’s top seven and cabinet ministers. Insiders said one after another, MPs had questioned why the ANC was willing to continue with the DA in the GNU
The caucus sentiment on the GNU is said to have the support of some of the ANC’s top seven and cabinet ministers. Insiders said one after another, MPs had questioned why the ANC was willing to continue with the DA in the GNU.
Sources said MPs maintained the ANC did not need the participation of the DA to form a majority in parliament, and argued that a minority government with smaller parties was the better option.
However, this strategy was rejected by Mbalula, who told the MPs it was up to the party’s national executive committee to make that determination.
Mbalula is said to have told the MPs that a national working committee (NWC) meeting was scheduled for tomorrow to further ventilate the matter.
“Mbalula was very measured. He addressed the caucus for about an hour on the matter. He stated that the NWC had chosen to reset the GNU, and whether this will ultimately lead to the exit of the DA will be left to the leadership,” one of the sources said.
During a media briefing on Thursday, Mbalula himself said the DA’s rejection of the budget called into question its continued participation in the GNU.
“To us, it’s not a make or a break, it’s a principled question that any political party that participates in the GNU will have to answer. The ANC is not in a hurry to dismiss people from the GNU, neither are we afraid about their presence,” he said.
Mbalula said members of the GNU would continue to have their differences without abandoning the coalition altogether.
“Even if you replace the DA, it doesn’t mean the replacement is going to be aligned to the ANC… It doesn’t mean if you were to say ‘go away’ and other parties come in, they are going to change their identity and become ANC.” Mbalula is believed to be one of those in the ANC’s top leadership who want the DA stay in the GNU, which some see as central to Ramaphosa remaining as ANC president.
Some NEC members believe Mbalula has stalled on convening an NEC meeting out of fear that it would call for the DA’s removal from the GNU. Insiders say Mantashe and Mashatile have been vocal that the DA must be removed from the GNU.
The 159-member caucus is largely made up of NEC members and cabinet ministers, who could succeed in voting down the DA’s continued membership of the GNU.
In a leaked audio clip first published by TimesLIVE Premium last month, shortly before the passing of the fiscal framework in parliament, Ramaphosa told the ANC caucus the DA had given a clear indication to the ANC about where it stood when it voted against the budget.
“Of course, in the end, this may well be a point where, as the deputy president says, it’s the end of their participation because they are defining themselves out of the GNU … In the end, they have put themselves in a difficult position,” Ramaphosa said.
This would not be the first time the caucus has changed the course of the party — in 2018 its support was key to removing the then president Jacob Zuma when he pushed back against recall by the NEC.
The NWC has toyed with the idea of “punishing” the DA for its stance on the budget by cutting the number of cabinet portfolios it holds by two. The idea was mooted at a meeting of the committee last month, where some are said to have backed kicking the DA out altogether.
However, Ramaphosa would prefer the DA to jump, rather than be pushed.
The caucus on Friday is said to have also expressed frustration that Luthuli House had kept a tight lid on details of the budget negotiations. MPs wanted to be given an update ahead of this week’s parliamentary process.
“MPs have issues with how they were told the NEC will sit and will give direction on the budget and VAT, which hasn’t happened,” one insider said.
“Now we must deal with issues of a DA that is misbehaving, grandstanding and is even taking the ANC to court.
“MPs also raised the issue of VAT, which we don’t know. Now we are thrown into something we don’t know; there has never been an ANC meeting to adopt the VAT directive ... and we are expected to own up to this thing,” this source said.
“We need to discuss a way forward, including the next budget to be presented ... We are expected to deal with the outcomes of these discussions while we aren’t brought into confidence or given a chance to deliberate on these matters.”
Efforts to reach Mbalula and Mashatile were unsuccessful.
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