DA & ANC fail to reach agreement in Gauteng

By: Natasha Archary

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) have failed to reach an agreement in Gauteng.

Despite some progress in negotiations on Tuesday, 02 July the announcement of the Gauteng Provinical Cabinet has been postponed due to deadlocks between the two parties.

Lesufi postpones Gauteng Cabinet announcement due to deadlocks with DA

In a statement, the DA says an agreement could not be reached in relation to the basis of the National Statement of Intent which was signed on 14 June.

DA Provincial Leader, Solly Msimanga, proposed an approach to implementing the Statement of Intent in the Gauteng context. He wrote the letter on June 22, 2024.

Solly’s letter refers to the crucial clauses in the Statement of Intent, including:

Clause 16, which defines the principles of proportionality, inclusiveness, and respecting the will of the voters (outcome of the election) in the setting up of a government; and
Clause 19, which contains a definition of the principle of “Sufficient Consensus” in terms of which decisions in government will be taken.

According to the DA, the letter was received but they have note received a reply to date.

The DA was prepared to accept a maximum 3 out of 10 seats in the Provincial Legislature, however the ANC reportedly only offered its counterpart 2 seats, which were declined.

“The ANC today conceded that they had intended to allocate 3 seats to the DA, and 7 to themselves, out of a cabinet of 11 (including the ANC Premier). This division falls far short of the requirements set out in Clause 16 of the Declaration of Intent, given that the DA comprises 45% and the ANC 55% of the GPU.

It also excluded the IFP that has been part of the national agreement from the start. We stated that this intention did not meet the requirement of good faith to the original signatories of the GNU.

The ANC’s position also illustrated that their refusal to discuss with us which other parties they wished to include, was a smokescreen to hide the fact that they were planning to allocate a full seven to themselves, while leaving us with three.

Allocating more than double the number of executive positions to the ANC compared to the DA, does not reflect the election outcome, nor is it broadly proportional, nor is it inclusive.”

The DA in Gauteng is not prepared to be co-opted by the ANC on their terms, acting as if it still has an overall majority.

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