Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa stands to be the biggest loser as politicians continue to play chicken over the future of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Business leaders have expressed frustration with renewed ructions within the coalition as its two biggest parties, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) dare each other to collapse it.
After months of tensions over the 2025 Budget which left the GNU hanging by a thread, President Cyril Ramaphosa fired a DA deputy minister, Andrew Whitfield, last week, causing yet another rift in the coalition.
Ramaphosa said Whitfield was fired for breaking protocol and travelling without presidential permission, a “serious violation that should not be permitted”.
However, DA leader John Steenhuisen called it a double standard, and gave the president 48 hours to fire at least two other ANC ministers accused of corruption and other violations of the ethics code.
Anxiety built as the DA called a press conference on Saturday (28 June), at the end of the 48 hour deadline, with some anticipating the end of the GNU.
However, the party confirmed it would remain in the coalition and in government.
Instead of leaving, it would withdraw from Ramaphosa’s ‘National Dialogue’ and commited to voting against the departmental budgets of the minister it wanted axed.
In response, presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the president would view such actions as insubordination, which would likely bring sanctions against Steenhuisen.
As had been the case with the divisions over the 2025 Budget, the DA’s strategy appears to be to state clearly that it will not leave the GNU, while working against the ANC from within the coalition.
The ANC’s secretary general, Fikile Mbalula, meanwhile, has continued the party’s public line on the divisions, daring the DA to pack its bags and leave the GNU.
With neither party apparently willing to pull the trigger to collapse the coalition, the country now faces a political stalemate that threatens to sabotage the GNU’s past 12 months of positive progress.
Choosing politics over people
Business Leadership South Africa Chief Executive, Busisiwe Mavuso
According to Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) chief executive Busi Mavuso, political stability within the GNU remains the coalition’s biggest Achilles’ Heel.
With politicians choosing political survival over stable and sound governance, the entire country stands to lose.
She said that when faced with political uncertainty, business confidence declines, investors hold back money, and progress in electricity, logistics, and IT development is at serious risk of stalling.
Mavuso said the GNU coalition partners never established proper protocols for managing their inevitable disagreements, and the constant threats and tensions bring the exact kind of instability that South Africa does not need.
“What we need now is political maturity from the GNU partners. South Africans didn’t vote for this coalition to watch it tear itself apart over political positioning,” she said.
“The economic partnership we’ve built proves that collaboration works – but it requires a government confident enough in its own longevity to make bold decisions.”
She said the consistent tensions between GNU partners are undermining South Africa’s capacity to formulate and implement the urgently required policies to address its many challenges.
“It will undoubtedly continue to delay our ambitions for a capable state,” she said.
This is all happening at a time when South Africa is facing unprecedented external pressure in the global economy, with strained US relations and the looming threat of a 30% tariff.
Mavuso said that the GNU’s fragility is having real and serious consequences.
“The next twelve months will determine whether this government becomes a footnote in political history or the foundation for South Africa’s economic recovery,” she said.
“Our economic trajectory is our most urgent priority. Organised business is committed to help make bold decisions and implement the changes needed.”
“I hope we continue to be able to partner with a government with similar energy and focus.”
Source: businesstech
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