Illustrative image | Songezo Zibi. (Photo: Phando Jikelo / RSA Parliament) | Mmusi Maimane. (Photo by Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams) | Fikile Mbalula. (Photo by Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu) | John Steenhuisen. (Photo by Gallo Images/OJ Koloti) | Herman Mashaba. (Photo by Gallo Images/Darren Stewart) 
As the ANC navigates uncharted waters in a budget standoff with political parties both inside and outside government, it is also pushing for a new formal agreement — one that would legally bind parties to support future parliamentary motions, aiming to prevent a recurrence of the current impasse.
At the heart of the deadlock is a 0.5 percentage point VAT increase that several parties, including the DA, which is the second biggest party in the government of national unity (GNU), are opposed to.
The fiscal framework, a key part of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget, was passed with the help of political parties outside of the GNU, including ActionSA and Build One South Africa (Bosa), on the condition that there are talks to explore alternatives to the VAT hike.
The ANC’s national leadership, including national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, and treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa, has been meeting with political parties in Sandton, Johannesburg, this week.
Read more: GNU 2.0 loading — ‘You can’t be part of a government whose Budget you opposed,’ says Presidency
While the talks are mainly aimed at resolving the current impasse, Daily Maverick understands that the ANC has indicated to parties, including ActionSA, Al Jama-ah, and the United Democratic Movement (UDM), a need to have a rules-based approach going forward to avoid getting caught off-guard in future votes.
“At the end of the day, those who agree on the way forward will then have to craft a statement of agreement. The GNU is not the ANC and the DA.
“The ANC is advocating for a rules-based approach in terms of the functioning of the GNU going forward,” Mbalula said.
ANC and DA meeting Saturday
The ANC is set to meet with a DA delegation on Saturday, 12 April, followed by talks with the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) on Sunday, 13 April. These meetings will mark the end of the week’s engagements, with the overall process expected to conclude on Monday.
Read more: DA says it is ‘willing to speak to ANC to get a workable Budget on the table’
On the possibility of having a new document altogether, the DA’s federal chairperson Hellen Zille shot down the suggestion and told Daily Maverick: “We have a Statement of Intent, negotiated last year, and that is a signed and sealed document that forms the basis of the GNU.”
While Zille could not be drawn into commenting further about the party’s posture towards this latest round of talks, she said: “It really does not help to negotiate in the public domain.”
Downplaying tensions
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the talks, Mbalula on Thursday afternoon said:
“What is before us is not a matter between two political parties, it is a matter among political parties, those in the GNU as well those who are outside to make it a point that we are able to pass the budget. There has not been any bargaining conditions other than objections to the VAT.”
Earlier this week, Mbalula was adamant the party’s national working committee had resolved to “reset” the GNU amid the impasse. However, on Thursday he appeared to downplay the suggestion.
Read more: ANC NWC resolves to ‘reset’ relationship with DA, other partners
“Reconfiguration will be answered fully if a political party or two walk away from the GNU… Secondly, the ANC is committed to the government of national unity. The challenges that we have faced with the passing of the budget are matters that are under discussion as we speak. If it so happens that the impasse is not avoidable in the process of negotiations and talks, it means that will then result in other processes and discussions,” he said.
Meanwhile, the party’s deputy president Paul Mashatile said while the GNU has experienced its challenges, the current tensions within the coalition do not mean that it has collapsed.
Speaking at the commemoration of anti-apartheid struggle hero Chris Hani in Cofimvaba, Eastern Cape on Thursday, he said: “The government of national unity has had a lot of challenges in the past, but those did not lead to its collapse.”
“It’s not the agreement of the ANC and the DA. It’s an agreement of 10 parties. And we want to make sure that when we deal with issues in the GNU, we deal with these issues as all parties… working together prioritising the challenges that the people of South Africa (SA) are facing — not our narrow political interests. We need to understand that we have reached agreements and we must respect those agreements.”
ANC push for ‘predictable’ politics
At the heart of the push for a new binding agreement is the ANC’s desire to create a more stable and predictable working relationship with political parties that are aligned with its objectives — parties it won’t need to continuously negotiate with to secure support for key votes in Parliament.
This week, Mbalula made the party’s stance clear, saying: “If the DA wants to leave the GNU, they can leave tonight, tomorrow, anytime they want. If they wish to leave, they can go.”
While it’s unlikely the DA will exit the GNU voluntarily, the ultimate decision on whether the GNU remains intact rests with the ANC’s highest decision-making body, the National Executive Committee (NEC).
There have already been growing calls for the DA to be removed from government, with some arguing that a party cannot remain in power while opposing and voting against a budget it is expected to help implement.
However, Mashatile confirmed that the ANC will reconfigure the GNU to include other parties that want to work with the ANC.
“Now, the leadership of the ANC, after what has happened recently, decided that we are going to reconfigure the alliance. We are going to reconfigure the alliance and we are going to reconfigure the GNU to ensure that we bring other parties on board to work with us, but also to ensure that we discuss this properly with all the parties,” Mashatile said.
FF+ committed to GNU, for now
The FF Plus’ national spokesperson Wouter Wessels told Daily Maverick the party’s federal management committee, which met on Tuesday, 8 April, discussed the issue of the party’s continued participation in the GNU and remains “committed to the fact that we will participate in the government of national unity, as long as we can play a positive part and it is to benefit our electorate, our constituents, but also SA as a whole”.
He added the FF+ had “resolved to stay in the GNU but to assess and reassess continuously — especially if there are new developments where parties outside of the GNU are used to garner support for policy and legislative attempts by the ANC, for instance without the support of the GNU.”
“In that instance we will not stay in the GNU, obviously, because there’s no part to play anymore if that is the modus operandi.”
The need for a “clear strategy” going forward to resolve disputes and formulate policies with the inputs of all parties in the GNU is expected to be on the agenda for the FF Plus’ bilateral with the ANC, along with finding an alternative to the VAT increase, he said.
While the likes of parties such as ActionSA and Bosa may have come to the rescue of the ANC in passing the fiscal framework — a key part of moving the budget forward – two major bills still need parliamentary approval.
The Division of Revenue Bill and the Appropriation Bill. Both ActionSA and Bosa have previously threatened to withdraw their support if the ANC doesn’t keep its promise to explore alternatives to the proposed VAT hike within 30 days. DM