From left: DA leader John Steenhuisen. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan) | President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Photo: Thierry Monasse / Getty Images) 
The final government of national unity (GNU) agreement was signed at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), the venue hosting the first sitting of the seventh Parliament, shortly after noon on Friday.
The agreement, seen by Daily Maverick, bears the signatures of DA federal chair Helen Zille and ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula.
There are no other party leaders listed, and the document does not specify which parties - beyond the ANC and DA - will be part of the GNU. It leaves open the possibility that other parties may join the GNU later, subject to the agreement of the original parties.
The GNU agreement makes it clear that parties will cooperate “in both the Executive and the Legislature”. In other words, it encompasses both ministerial appointments and Parliament.
ANC to take Speaker, DA Deputy
As was reported earlier on Friday, the agreement will see the DA vote alongside the ANC in support of Thoko Didiza as Speaker in exchange for ANC backing for the nomination of the DA’s Annelie Lotriet as Deputy Speaker.
In addition, GNU parties will be given leadership positions of “some committees” in Parliament.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) is to be given the role of chair of chairs.
When it comes to the Executive, the agreement states that the GNU will be constituted “broadly taking into account the number of seats parties have in the National Assembly and the need to advance the national interest”.
When the President puts together the next Cabinet, he is required to “take into account the electoral outcomes”.
This should mean minister or deputy minister roles for a number of opposition politicians.
The agreement also stipulates that although it is the president’s prerogative to appoint members of the Executive, he will now do so in consultation with the leaders of the other political parties involved in the GNU.
It states that the GNU will operate via consensus. Where disagreement means that no consensus is possible, “sufficient consensus” will be found to exist where parties in the GNU cumulatively representing at least 60% of seats in the National Assembly agree.
9 basic GNU priorities
The GNU will pursue priorities including economic growth, land reform and job creation.
The agreement specifies that “macro-economic management must support national development goals in a sustainable manner”.
There is a hint that the DA may be making progress in its quest to have certain services, like transport and policing, brought under the control of the provinces. The agreement states that “the assignment of appropriate responsibilities to different spheres of government” will be a priority.
Foreign policy was previously believed to be one of the major sticking points of coalition talks between the DA and ANC.
In the end, the GNU has opted for a pretty broad clause calling for a foreign policy “based on human rights, constitutionalism, the national interest, solidarity, peaceful resolution of conflicts, to achieve the African Agenda 2063, South-South, North-South and African cooperation, multilateralism and a just, peaceful and equitable world”. DM