DA remains committed to GNU amid policy clashes, political deadlocks

Key topics:South Africa’s DA commits to staying in the coalition government despite tensions.ANC and DA clash over policies like Black economic empowerment and government roles.Political deadlock hampers economic reforms, risking voter backlash in upcoming elections..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up for the BizNews channel here..By S'thembile Cele and Ntando Thukwana.South Africa’s second-biggest party reiterated its intention to remain within the fractious coalition government, saying its continued participation had the backing of most of its members and should boost its support in next year’s municipal elections.The 10-party coalition was formed 13 months ago after the African National Congress failed to secure a parliamentary majority in a national vote for the first time since apartheid ended in 1994. The ANC has since clashed repeatedly with the Democratic Alliance, its main rival, over policy and appointments, raising doubts over whether the so-called government of national unity will remain intact. The two parties are currently at odds over the ANC’s plans to expand the administration, a move that could potentially sideline the DA. But its leader, John Steenhuisen, downplayed the differences, saying it was the nature of coalition politics that there wouldn’t always be consensus. He called for the current makeup of the government to be retained and better managed. “The majority of the Democratic Alliance is very much behind the GNU,” even though some members felt the party was being forced to make fatal policy compromises, Steenhuisen said in an interview on Monday. “They’ve seen the polling, they’ve seen what it means for us electorally being part of the GNU.” Six of the DA’s members serve in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet — including Steenhuisen as agriculture minister — giving them considerable sway over their portfolios. Former President Jacob Zuma’s Mkhonto weSizwe Party and Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters, both of which want mines and banks to be nationalised, opted against joining the government. “The GNU is not working optimally,” the DA leader said. “I think that’s obvious to everybody, but I think it’s a quintessential question in politics compared to what could happen if the DA is on the opposition benches. I think that the alternative is far worse.” The ideological divide between South Africa’s biggest parties was evident on Monday when the DA unveiled a suite of proposals aimed at creating jobs and firing up the economy — including scrapping Black economic-empowerment laws that it said only benefits a politically connected elite. The ANC considers the legislation a cornerstone of its efforts to address ongoing racial disparities and has repeatedly insisted it won’t roll back the legislation..Read more:.DA divided over staying in South Africa’s coalition – Bloomberg.The ANC and DA previously clashed over land expropriation, schools admission policy, a national health insurance plan and a proposal to raise value-added tax. The DA also objected to Ramaphosa’s decision to fire one of its members from his post as deputy trade minister for traveling abroad without permission and announced a boycott of a national dialogue that aims to chart a way forward for the country in protest, describing it as a waste of time and money. The GNU is “a marriage of inconvenience that neither of the two biggest parties can afford to leave,” said Melanie Verwoerd, an independent political analyst and former ANC lawmaker.“The DA’s donors and the middle-class electorate who support it wouldn’t forgive them from walking away, while the ANC knows it will be hard to cobble together a majority without the support of other larger parties that currently aren’t part of the government and may make even more unreasonable demands.”Steenhuisen, who has indicated that he intends to seek relection as DA leader next year, acknowledged that political wrangling within the GNU hampers efforts to boost output in Africa’s largest economy. “We are pretty much still kicking the can down the road,” he said. “There are no major reforms that have been driven through at all in the last year, and we’ve got to get cracking on because it’s those reforms that are so essential to send the market signal up to investors that, okay, these guys are serious.”.© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.