GHALEB CACHALIA: Can GNU put individual concerns aside for greater good?

Contrary to the belief of those who think SA is different and remedies for the ills that plague us require specific application relatively unrelated to the rest of the world, South Africans may be surprised by the findings of recent Global Adviser studies.

These included significant representative samples across  multiple participating countries and cited inflation, international conflicts, climate change, crime and violence, poverty and social inequality, unemployment, and financial and political corruption as being the key areas of concern. 

So while the specific remedies based on the nuances of situational characteristics require particular application, our lot is inextricably tied into global concerns, remedies and outcomes. I’m going to have to hold myself back next time I hear a politician talking about the need to focus locally as if we are an island, exempt from global issues. 

There are global initiatives and movements ranging from the right to the left, from Project 2025 to those responsible for the political swing to the left in recent Western European elections. The government of national unity (GNU) had therefore best be aware of this as it battles internally to seek unity of focus across the 11 manifestos of each of the parties in the coalition. 

How exactly the neoliberal agenda of the DA meets the ultimate “filter” as articulated by minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni that will determine the priorities of government as articulated in the National Development Plan (NDP), is anyone’s guess.  

A useful segue may be a focus on the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are closely linked to that plan. The DA has incorporated these into its view on transformation, and Ntshavheni is on record as saying:  “As we implement the NDP, we are also implementing the SDGs”. 

Then there’s the task of coalescing the other nine parties into a common corral given their differences on key issues such as immigration, human rights, competing tribal agendas and more. Either the GNU addresses these — a tall task given the differences — or the tenuous balance will fall apart, as things do when the centre cannot hold. Many people I speak to live in hope, but in reality don’t foresee it lasting two years.

Then what? Do we go back to square one? Who will the ANC have cosied up to in the interregnum? What post-dated deals are currently being struck? And where does this leave the DA, which rushed into this power share and emerged with some peripheral ministries and a few chairs of committees? Will it signal a revisiting of the stances of both the ANC and the DA as they revert to opposing aisles of the chamber? 

In the interim, according to Ntshavheni, the adopted programme of action, the medium-term strategic framework (MTSF), “will be announced by the president at the opening of parliament this Thursday, July 18. After the adoption of the MTSF the individual departments will then develop their strategic plans linked to the MTSF and annual performance plans for implementation of the MTSF targets”. 

Departments will need to present both their strategic plans and annual performance plans to parliament and the department of planning, monitoring & evaluation for oversight.  The following phase is funded by the Treasury via the national budget that is tabled and approved by parliament.  

Key to all of this is that the department is responsible for overseeing and reporting on the implementation of the MTSF (the consolidated government view) and the annual performance plans, and submits the reports of alignment and performance to both the president and the cabinet. 

This is where it all comes together or falls apart. The NDP aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. According to the NDP executive summary: “SA can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its people, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting leadership and partnerships throughout society.” 

The jury is out on whether the GNU can agree the trajectory of economic development, the National Infrastructure Plan and the Industrial Policy Action Plan — just for starters. 

• Cachalia is a former DA MP and public enterprises spokesperson.