The DA wants at least 10 of the 30 available positions, while the ANC is believed to have offered three.

DA leader John Steenhuisen, according to News24, was willing to drop their demand to seven, provided the ANC also reduce their allocation.

However, the ANC was reportedly unwilling to concede, with the DA threatening to collapse coalitions in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Despite these emerging tensions over the allocation of Cabinet positions to parties in the GNU, the ANC remains upbeat about the prospects of the GNU, describing the agreement signed by ten political parties in recent days as “historic”.

This comes as the DA, which is the second-largest party within the GNU, was reported to be threatening to walk out of the GNU after the ANC allegedly allocated it three out of the 30 Cabinet posts.

As the second-largest party within the GNU, the DA believed it was entitled to at least ten Cabinet positions.

However, ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said it was incorrect to claim that there was a deadlock over the allocation of Cabinet seats, as power-sharing talks among parties were ongoing.

“The engagements with the signatory parties to the GNU on the formation of the executive have started, and President Cyril Ramaphosa will announce appointments to the executive in the coming days,” he said.

Ramaphosa, who was re-elected during the National Assembly’s first sitting over a week ago, shortly after the announcement of the May general elections results, announced that the ANC has resolved to form a GNU.

Initially, the talks were between the ANC, DA, and IFP. However, the number of political parties that are part of the GNU has since increased to ten, with the UDM, PAC, and PA being the latest political parties to join the GNU.

Bhengu-Motsiri said the ten parties have all now signed an agreement binding them to work together.

“The [ANC] is pleased to announce the establishment of a historic agreement between 10 South African political parties to form a GNU for the seventh democratic administration,” she said.

While, initially, the agreement was between GNU parties and the ANC, Bhengu-Motsiri said that, in future, parties wanting to join the GNU would either be accepted or rejected based on consultations between the current 10 GNU members.

The ANC remains in open communication with the parties that have not joined the GNU, exploring various ways in which there can be collaboration in building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, and prosperous South Africa.

“Any further parties wishing to join the GNU will be subject to clause 24 of the Statement of Intent, which states: In keeping with the spirit of an inclusive GNU, it is agreed that the composition shall be discussed and agreed amongst the existing parties, whenever new parties desire to be part of the GNU,” she said.

By late on Sunday afternoon, the GNU parties were still engaged in talks around the composition of the new Cabinet.

The full list of the GNU political parties is as follows: ANC, DA, PA, IFP, PAC, FF+, UDM, Rise Mzansi, Al Jama-ah and Good.

Article: Caxton publication, The Witness

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