The ANC has drawn a line in the sand on a future government of national unity (GNU), signalling it will not permit any changes to transformative policies such as BEE and worker-friendly labour laws.
As a power-sharing accord took shape this week, with the DA taking centre stage, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s closest ally, Frans Baleni, a former trade unionist, told the Sunday Times it would not be possible for the ANC to work with the EFF or the MK Party of former president Jacob Zuma. ANC leaders say the EFF had made it clear in their previous meetings that they would not participate in any GNU arrangement.
A top DA official, who did not want to be named, meanwhile said the party welcomed the opportunity to give the country political stability for the five years that a GNU could last until the next elections.
With negotiations still at an early stage, ANC insiders have suggested that a future president would consult the parties in the GNU about cabinet appointments, which would be allocated among all of them. However, the ANC, forced to find power-sharing partners after its dismal 40% showing in the elections, is insisting on a “minimum programme” that its negotiators have presented to potential GNU members.
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