[Letter] GNU’s survival despite areas of contention indicates strength

The government of national unity (GNU) survived to see the 100 day-mark on October 8. The generally positive sentiment for the GNU is reflected in 18.5% of registered voters who think the arrangement is working “very well”, and 39.4% of registered voters who think it is working “quite well”. This according to a Social Research Foundation survey conducted in September.

The current GNU is the most politically diverse government SA has ever been under because no political party won an outright majority in the May election — and is unlikely to do so soon. Therefore, national coalitions are a new political dynamic to adjust to, for South Africans, political parties and politicians alike.

The GNU has already been tested by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, and the ousting of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink on September 26. In the short-term contentious issues are likely to continue now that the third parliamentary term of 2024 has begun.

Parliament’s final term for the year will mostly be spent on parliamentary committees scrutinising the 2023/24 annual reports of government departments. This is done to assess their financial performance and determine whether they performed according to their predetermined objectives. These evaluations will then be used to formulate the Budgetary Review and recommendation reports to establish the medium-term budget policy statement that is scheduled for October 30.

This means political parties new to the cabinet, such as the DA and PA, in departments such as home affairs and sports, arts & culture, will review how departments performed in the previous term when they were managed by the ANC.

The GNU is moving out of its “honeymoon phase” and some issues, arguably National Health Insurance foremost among these, could cause bigger ructions, possibly even hard splits. However, the fact that the GNU has thus far survived areas of contention could be an indication that the arrangement is stronger than initially perceived.

Above all, it is most important for the GNU parties to remember that national coalition politics is here to stay; those parties that internalise this fact and conduct themselves accordingly will likely perform better in future election cycles.