LETTER: ANC-DA coalition will make South Africa’s problems worse

Over the past few decades, South Africans have built an ability to find hope in despair, making lemonade when their government continues to hand them lemons. Yet this determination sometimes leads to misplaced faith in unlikely solutions.

Such would be the case with a grand coalition between the ANC and the DA, as suggested by FM deputy editor Natasha Marrian in “Why a Grand Coalition is Exactly What the Country Needs” (State of Play, August 17-23).

Marrian’s argument hinges on the belief that it could help push through reforms and improve public service. However, her perspective fails to recognise the inherent flaws and consequences of such a partnership.

The primary issue is the compromise of the official opposition’s role. A coalition would mute its critical voice, leaving a void in the nation’s democratic discourse. But there are other critical aspects to consider too.

First, in any coalition, the larger party invariably wields more influence, making it unrealistic to expect significant reforms from a smaller partner. Have the coalition governments of the ANC in Joburg and Ekurhuleni improved governance in any way, for example? 

Perhaps more importantly, the track record of the ANC’s president in effecting meaningful change within his own party raises questions about the ability of the DA or the EFF to bring about any transformative shifts of their own.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration has been plagued by ongoing corruption scandals and the remaining problematic elements from the previous administration, not least his Jacob Zuma-era cabinet members. The assumption that either the DA’s John Steenhuisen or the EFF’s Julius Malema could succeed in forcing change where Ramaphosa has faltered is naive.

Another critical concern is how a coalition partner could effectively combat corruption while being tethered to the ANC, which has repeatedly shown its unwillingness to change its kleptomaniac ways. The options boil down to turning a blind eye or exiting the coalition — and the latter is unlikely, given the desire for stability on which a grand coalition is premised.

The ANC’s deeply entrenched policies, processes and cadre deployment practices have effectively merged with the government apparatus. Inexperienced in the complexities of national governance, the DA and the EFF would be outmanoeuvred by seasoned ANC members. 

It means that real change in South Africa can only emerge from a multiparty alliance that transcends the traditional boundaries of political adversaries, such as the multiparty charter signed recently. The charter already represents close to 50% of popular support in places such as Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Given the fact that ActionSA has never contested national elections, a surge in the IFP’s support, and the inclusion of new players such as Rise Mzansi and Build One South Africa, the multiparty charter stands a real chance of unseating the ANC in 2024.

Michael Beaumont
National chair of ActionSA and one of the negotiators of the multiparty charter 

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