Africa-Press – South-Africa. The leaders of South Africa’s coalition government pledged to accelerate economic reforms and work more closely together during a two-day meeting aimed at improving the functioning of the administration.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the leaders of the nine other parties in the so-called government of national unity also agreed to focus on key policy areas, including intensifying the fight against crime and developing a “comprehensive response” to illegal immigration, the presidency said in a statement on Monday.
“Many people thought we would have collapsed by now,” Ramaphosa told the South African Broadcasting Corporation “We have reconfirmed that the GNU is here to stay and the GNU is going to find more and more aways of working together.”
The president established the alliance when his African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in last year’s elections for the first time since it took power after apartheid ended in 1994.
While the new administration’s commitment to prioritise economic growth cheered investors, its durability has been repeatedly tested since its formation in June 2024.
Its main members — including the Democratic Alliance — have clashed over a series of contentious laws, the National Treasury’s proposal to raise value-added tax — which was subsequently abandoned — and the president’s firing of a deputy trade minister from the DA for traveling abroad without permission.
“The leaders recognised difficulties at times in the functioning of the GNU, most notably around the 2025 budget process,” the presidency said.
“However, it has drawn important lessons from these experiences and will ensure more effective consultation in developing fiscal priorities and frameworks. All parties reaffirmed their full commitment to the GNU.”
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