Crucial ministerial posts cause delays as GNU partners battle to find common ground
Crucial ministerial posts cause delays as GNU partners battle to find common ground
There was still no indication as to when President Cyril Ramaphosa would announce the Cabinet of the Government of National Unity (GNU), as the main founders don’t agree on ministerial positions.
According to Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie, these delays were caused by political parties’ quest of power.
“The delay and fight is now about positions in GNU, let no one lie to you… Politicians and political parties exist for accumulation of power, stop acting like you exist for ambience, the delay is about who occupies which positions now. We should all be honest about this obvious point,” McKenzie said.
The Star reported on Monday that the DA had set its eyes on the minister in the Presidency post.
The position boosts the most powerful and key portfolio of State Security, which controls, monitors and provides the state with domestic and foreign threats.
The DA was championing this position for its leader John Steenhuisen as the party’s federal chairperson Helen Zille had hinted.
According to the Statement of Intent, both the ANC and DA signed the arrangement of working together which would trickle down to provincial and local government.
This arrangement could be attributed to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s postponement of his scheduled media briefing where he was to announce members of his executive committee.
Later on Sunday afternoon, it was reported that the reason he had postponed it was due to the intervention made the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
But Lesufi denied there was ever an intervention from the president citing his reasons for postponing as allowing negotiators to iron out few outstanding issues.
“The negotiators requested more time. Unfortunately these are not usual negotiations. They’re extremely complicated and difficult,” he said.
Lesufi also disputed reports that he was instructed to include members of the DA in his provincial cabinet.
The ANC failed to garner enough votes to secure an outright majority in Gauteng, requiring the buy-in from other parties to form a government.
Similar to the president’s Cabinet announcement, there is still no indication when Lesufi would make the appointments to his executive.
Meanwhile, the rand weakened on Monday morning as the country was eagerly awaiting Ramaphosa’s Cabinet announcements.
The rand traded at R18 to the dollar, about 0.22% weaker than its previous close.
In his weekly newsletter to the nation on Monday, Ramaphosa said South Africans wanted the elected representatives “to put aside narrow interests and work together to build the country.
“The GNU cannot be preoccupied with jockeying for positions, tussles over appointments or squabbles within and between parties,” Ramaphosa said.
The Star