By Minenhle Zikhali
The Government of National Unity (GNU) isn’t a new concept in South Africa, however – South Africa was coming out of the difficult years of apartheid when the concept was introduced in 1994 and the aim was to foster inclusion despite the African National Congress (ANC) being outright winners of the election then.
This time, the terminology is being challenged by some as it can be viewed as a mere coalition because the union came as there hasn’t been an outright winner. The Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) has even gone to court a few times in an effort to stop the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) from using GNU. Some in the Democratic Alliance have also previously used the term “coalition” as opposed to unity government.
This time, the ANC has decided to form a coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA), Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), and other smaller parties creating the Government of National Unity, also known as the GNU. They say that the door is open for a few more to join.
Political analyst, Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu, remarked that for the past year, the parties in the GNU have faced a problem of not being able to work together. “There is what I have referred to as an identity crisis in the sense that the ANC will behave as though it is still the governing party and the DA will also behave as though it is still the opposition party which is not the case. All 10 political parties are part of the coalition.”
Each political party in South Africa has a Manifesto, a term derived from the Latin word manifest, meaning to make something evident. A political manifesto is a campaign document that details the plans, policies, and promises to people before elections. It provides people with a clear vision of what the political party aims to achieve and how it plans to govern. Now, what happens when more than 5 parties with different manifestos decide to form a coalition without properly planning it out? You get what is called a statement of intent, similar to an oath someone recites before they join a club, but what should one expect from a government formed out of a compromise?
Just as ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula stated, “the GNU is not a permanent structure but a tactical necessity to safeguard South Africa’s progressive agenda amidst a fractured electoral mandate.” He continued to add that the GNU was crafted to ensure stability in government, advance service delivery to our people, and drive transformation with the ANC’s strategic leadership at its core.
But as expected, for the past year, conflict started up between the DA and the ANC as there have been policy disagreements between the two, so much so that it makes one wonder, is this a coalition or a collision government? The unemployment rate has remained at its all-time high of 32%, necessities such as water and sanitation continue to be but a dream for most of south Africa, there is no form of a guide that they are following, it is as if they are winging it as they move along which is why there is a lot of disagreements, there is no clear vision that the GNU is following as a map to where they wish to go.
In their inaugural review of the GNU, Action SA said, “The lack of a coherent agenda, what you have is a government that is running in multiple directions all at once and no direction enough, and this is why we have this concern regarding the direction that the GNU is taking South Africa.”
Enzokuhle Sabela, a Stellenbosch University Journalism honors student, has previously referred to the GNU as an arranged marriage. “On the surface, it looked like it was working, but now, it’s just a war of ego, political agendas that are being used to campaign for the upcoming local government elections, in terms of prioritizing the growth of the country, the GNU has only been a bit successful, I would grade it a D. vocal people who fought to keep the ANC accountable suddenly have nothing bad to say about the ANC because they are now fed by the government.”
He continued to add that the ANC’s aim in the GNU was to keep the MK out of government and cling to the little power they had left. Their intentions in forming the GNU were not based on good faith and governance, and therefore, a horrible ruling government.
While it has promoted political cooperation and avoided a crisis, progress on key issues like service delivery and corruption has been slow. Luyanda Danca, a master’s candidate from the University of Johannesburg, shared these remarks when asked about his thoughts on the GNU since its formation. He continued to add, “In my opinion, it is struggling. Internal disagreements and competing agendas have made cohesive governance difficult. In theory, yes, the GNU encourages unity and inclusive decision making, but in practice, it depends heavily on trust, compromise, and shared national vision, which are still developing.”
When asked about whether the GNU is a good fit for South Africa, eNCA reporter Dasen Thathiah said it’s good and bad, “it’s good in the fact that we now have some degree of accountability, which we didn’t have before. The ANC had become complacent, it had been in power for too long and it had moved far away from being a liberation movement to becoming oppressors of some, so in that sense something like the GNU is good because it now calls for accountability from the party as in a sense, they’ll all start watching each other and holding each other accountable. But it’s bad because it also means that hands are tied, and things can’t move very fast, passing of laws, changing of policies, things that affect South Africa daily may not necessarily move as quickly as they should.”
Political analyst Tara Roos wrote on her blog that the Government of National Unity has revealed itself to be neither truly national nor unified, a political arrangement sustained by mutual convenience rather than shared vision, “A hybrid formation, neither a government of national unity nor a traditional coalition. It is, at best, an executive fragmentation, a government that governs together selectively, votes together sometimes, and sues itself when necessary. A parliament within a parliament. One year in, the GNU stands not as a symbol of political maturity, but as an emblem of stasis. A government that isn’t collapsing but isn’t delivering either. One that doesn’t inspire confidence, but just enough stability to keep the wheels turning. That is not good enough,” She added.
Most have said that it is unfair to judge the GNU with just one year. That may be true, but perhaps one might need to ask, “Can we afford another 30 years of an experimental government?”
