‘They are like two bulls in a kraal’: Analyst says voters expect Lesufi and Msimanga to work together
‘They are like two bulls in a kraal’: Analyst says voters expect Lesufi and Msimanga to work together
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has once again postponed the announcement of his provincial executive council, amid squabbling with the Democratic Alliance, a key ally of the ANC in the provincial arrangement formed after the May 29 elections.
The African National Congress garnered 34.7 percent of the vote, while the DA secured 27.4 percent of the provincial vote in the May polls.
Two weeks ago, Panyaza Lesufi was re-elected as Premier of Gauteng. He was elected unopposed, with the DA backing his nomination.
Squabbles between the ANC and DA in Gauteng have resulted in a deadlock, with the provincial ANC insisting Lesufi was on Monday night going to announce his provincial executives, including different political parties but without the DA.
In an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, political analyst Dr Dale McKinley said both the provincial leaders of the ANC and DA in Gauteng need to step away from maximalist approaches and find each other.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi shakes hands with DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga. Picture: Timothy Bernard African News Agency (ANA)
“I think it’s about political maturity. The way I likened it earlier in a comment I was making is that Lesufi and Solly Msimanga are like two bulls in a kraal and they are basically trying to prove to each other who is the strongest, and acting fairly immaturely in this case,” McKinley said.
“Voters expect more. It’s not that there is not going to be differences, or hard bargaining and disagreements. Fundamentally, what the voters did was they gave these parties the mandate to come together, however they do so, they need to do so.
“It seems as though both of them need to just back away a little bit, reassess things and find a middle ground. That is what compromise is all about, not to push for maximalist positions and understand that it is not about the party, it is not about themselves but it is about the voter,” he said.
McKinley added that the announcement of the provincial executive would bring certainty to South Africa’s economic heartbeat province.
The DA in Gauteng says the ANC led by Lesufi in the province has only offered them two MEC positions, and the blue party has declined the offer.
On the other hand, the ANC in Gauteng insisted that the DA was not going to be part of the provincial government of national unity because they had not reached an agreement.
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