NATASHA MARRIAN: ANC and DA put posts over principle

the ANC and the DA are both to blame for the budget impasse — both have a poor appreciation for what is at stake and are on autopilot in their respective small-minded corners. 

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told journalists on Tuesday that the ANC would be meeting all parties to “reset the terms of engagement” of the government of national unity (GNU) after a meeting of the party’s national working committee on Monday. That would be completely understandable if there had been coherent engagement to begin with, but the GNU has been on autopilot. 

After agreeing to the statement of intent ahead of the election of President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, there have been no meaningful party-to-party discussions outside government processes on the medium-term development plan. Critics of the GNU are correct in their assessment that the focus of the most significant negotiation between the parties was on doling out cabinet posts. 

The GNU’s dispute resolution mechanism or “clearing house”, chaired by deputy president Paul Mashatile, is ineffective. Despite being set up in October last year, it has not formalised terms of reference agreed to by all parties, yet Mashatile is the loudest critic of the DA’s conduct in the budget negotiations.

Mbalula has done more to maintain stability in the GNU through his team of negotiators from Luthuli House than Mashatile has in his assigned responsibility to set up a mechanism to resolve disputes between the parties.

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana abandoned the tabling of his budget on February 19 and tabled a second take on March 12. The ANC and the DA negotiations over the budget came to a head just four days before the vote in parliament. Ramaphosa and DA leader John Steenhuisen met on the day the fiscal framework was before the standing committee on finance in parliament. 

For his part, Ramaphosa is rapidly evolving into a place holder leader as his second term as ANC president inches closer to its close. He cannot be relied on to hold the GNU together. Mashatile and Mbalula are both vying for the ANC presidency. Speculation that Mashatile wants to see the back of the DA in the GNU is true, but he has lost sight of his need for coalition partners if he hopes to lead the country in 2029.

A key question is whether the DA would remain in the GNU with Mashatile at the helm of the ANC. It is unlikely. Steenhuisen brought a criminal complaint against Mashatile in February last year after media reports about his alleged corrupt dealings. Mashatile is keenly aware of that; hence his push to keep channels to the EFF and Jacob Zuma’s MK party open.

From the DA’s side, its drumming of the “share power” message is understandable, but why now? It should’ve pushed for that in the initial negotiation immediately after the 2024 election. The DA was the most vociferous critic of the ANC’s management of the economy, yet in taking up cabinet seats in July within an ANC-led government, it did not have the foresight to negotiate economic reforms to push growth.

From the ANC’s side, principle is no longer part of its lexicon — negotiating over posts first is part of its DNA, since cadres, not the country, are always top of mind. Instead, it focused on ministerial posts. Now, it is throwing its wildest political power wet dreams at budget negotiations. 

The DA cannot play the victim when its own instinct in negotiating the coalition was to place its leaders in plush cabinet jobs. Instead of focusing on the lofty ideals of “sharing power” and “economic reforms” that it has suddenly woken up to, it went for positions and portfolios. 

What is also interesting is that it is not necessarily the content of the DA demands that is alienating the ANC, but its negotiation style — and the approach of its chief negotiator, Ryan Coetzee. Steenhuisen appears to have little power to make decisions and cannot hold his own without Coetzee pencilling in ever-evolving terms.

If the DA’s style of negotiating does not change in these renewed talks, its exit is inevitable. Perhaps that is the DA’s preference: make a spectacle of attempting to stay, when you have already taken a decision to leave.

In the end, the ANC and the DA need each other, despite their protestations to the contrary. — it’s time they started acting like that. 

• Marrian is Business Day editor at large.