Political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast says that the formation of a possible minority government is not what the country needs, should the 7th administration fail to form a Government of National Unity (GNU). Breakfast made the comments amid extended negotiations on the GNU formed after the African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority at the 29 May polls.
It has been a week since Cyril Ramaphosa was inaugurated as the country’s President after the hotly contested May 29 polls. But Ramaphosa has not yet announced his executive.
This has since prompted speculation on the possibility of a minority government. But Prof Breakfast says that a minority government is not what the country needs.
“That government will be fragile, it would be in a position where it could collapse anytime, that is the sad state of our affairs. According to the Parliamentary system, if you pass a budget or pass a bill and don’t have the majority, it must seize to exist and what does that mean for the country.”
South Africa has been without a cabinet since President Ramaphosa took his oath of office last Wednesday. Professor Breakfast says that Ramaphosa needs to convene a cabinet soon as this is not sending a good message to the markets.
“There are things that must be driven at a political level, strategy must be driven a political level in terms of the direction of the country but who is driving the strategy now. There is no strategy, there is nothing. There are no political heads, imagine the kind of message to the market.”
The GNU comprising the DA, IFP and PA was formed after the ANC failed to achieve a 51% majority in last month’s national elections.
Cosatu parliamentary coordinator, Matthew Parks says while the labour federation would’ve preferred a different option, it understands the ANC’s motivation given difficult political and socio-economic circumstances.
“We do remain concerned about the inclusion of the Democratic Alliance, a right wing political party. The DA has voted against all the labour laws in parliament since 1994. It’s election manifesto in these elections campaign spoke about scrapping the labour rights of workers and the minimum wage and for us, as Cosatu, these are non-negotiables and unacceptable proposals. We appreciate that in the declaration of the GNU that the ANC has asserted to respect the rights of workers and the labour laws, as well as the transformation agenda that the country has embarked upon since 1994.”
2024 Coalition Talks | COSATU rejects possible ANC-DA coalition:
uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party leader Jacob Zuma says that the party will approach an international court over the alleged rigging of last month’s elections.
The party’s decision comes after its bid to have the results of the elections declared invalid failed in the Electoral Court.
Zuma says that the MK Party has instructed its legal teams to take any steps, inside and outside South Africa, to ensure that justice is served.
“We will not have the South African judges doing so, judges who get angry and sentence you because they hate you. We are going to the judges who look at things and look at issues. We are going there.”
#MK Zuma: The sellout ANC of Ramaphosa has taken us back to 1948, millions and millions of our people have realized that the freedom starts with the removal of the ANC of Ramaphosa. #sabcnews
The MK Party says the Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Constitutional Court have ignored evidence provided to support the party’s claims that last month’s elections were rigged.
The MK party accuses the Constitutional Court of relying on technicalities.
“We presented concrete evidence to the IEC, showing widespread irregularities in the voting process and the voting system, it has all fallen on deaf ears. We’ve also tried all peaceful means to address our grievances, but all in vain. We’ve even approached the highest court in the land, but it rejected our pleas without even giving us a hearing, and they’re relying on technicalities while the democracy itself is being destroyed.”
VIDEO | In the video below the MK Party’s Nhlamulo Ndhlela says the elections were a total sham:
The MK Party has also accused the governing African National Congress (ANC) of being the enemy of progress.
The ANC is in the process of forming a government of national unity with the Democratic Alliance, the Inkatha Freedom Party and others.
The party also used the briefing to denounce what it calls the “ANC of Ramaphosa”.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has opposed a coalition between the Africa National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance or newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
The SACP briefed the media in Marshaltown yesterday on the outcomes of the election results following the ANC’s electoral decline.
The ANC has confirmed that it has been engaged in coalition talks with six parties including the DA.
They are the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the National Freedom Party (NFP) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
However, SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila says that a coalition with the DA would be going against its anti-capitalist agenda.
He says, “We support a minority government with GNU (Government of National Unity) features. That is the government of national unity features without the role and participation of DA-led forces. So we are clear about our anti-capitalist trajectory. The problem we faced in this country is because we have pursued over the years and have been beholden to the interest of capitalists who have always threatened us about the stability of our economy.”
Mapaila dismissed any possible coalition with the MK Party, describing it as counter-revolutionary.
He says, “If the MK Party engages with the ANC and comes to the conclusion to support them in this framework, the ANC has the right to do so but we have characterised them as a counter-revolutionary organization.”
SACP National Chairperson Blade Nzimande says their position on the DA is not meant to influence the governing party’s decision.
Nzimande says, “To us, it’s a contribution to being transparent, we don’t want to be second-guessed as the SACP as to what our views are on this particular matter. It is not aimed at influencing anyone other than to state our own position and as the General Secretary has said what is paramount in our own mind are things that is of interest to the working class and poor of our country.”
The African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General FikileMbalula has described the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) leader Jacob Zuma as a force to be reckoned with in the country’s political landscape.
The MKparty which was launched in December 2023 managed to garner 14.5% of the national vote in last week’s election.
It has replaced the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the third position.
Mbalula says the MK party will get many seats in the National Assembly.
“But the fact of the matter is that as we speak today, Jacob Zuma is a force to be reckoned with in the politics of South Africa. He is now 14% on the board and has surpassed EFF. Nobody has surpassed us, we’re still there with a reduced majority.”
“But these ones have been surpassing each other. So Zuma has displaced EFF, he would have more than 50 MPs there in Parliament,” adds Mbalula.