SA Government of National Unity (GNU): Learning to work with opposing policies and ideologies
During the first quarter of government, the South African political landscape and discourses on governance and policies have changed a great deal. Eleven political parties, with the ANC as the largest with 40.2% electoral support and the DA with 21.8% as the second largest, have formed a grand coalition under the name Government of National Unity (GNU).
President Ramaphosa has championed the formation of GNU against the wishes of some of his comrades, although the majority of the ANC has supported it. Furthermore, the President has used his constitutional prerogatives to expand the cabinet substantially. The 7th Administration of SA’s democratic dispensation has a 75-strong cabinet—the largest the country has ever had.
Financial and fiscal implications aside, the mix of political parties with vastly divergent policies requires not only policy coordination but also a great deal of policy alignment in the form of give-and-take. This is fairly common in coalition governments. Yet, in the South Africa of 2024 some of these policies are diametrically opposed, leaving little room for compromise. Key among these policies are three issues: Black Economic Empowerment, land ownership, and the approach towards migrants, especially illegal migrants from the rest of Africa.
One positive factor within the GNU is the open competition among the various ministers to show their personal effectiveness—something which is then elevated to the effectiveness of their political party. For several of the ANC ministers who have been around for a number of years, changing habits is demonstrably hard. One exception is the Minister of Electricity, who has instituted Monthly Briefings, and to his credit, he has kept the power utility—Eskom—in sharp focus. Load-shedding has become rare, and indications are that Eskom is getting its internal governance processes under control.
In effect, inter-party and inter-ministry rivalries have begun to shake up the lethargic Cabinet for the better. It remains to be seen if this will be maintained, and more importantly, if the operational capacity will be created with each ministry to accelerate public service delivery.
Now read on...
Register to sample a report