This is what will make the DA leave the Government of National Unity

Democratic Alliance leader and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen says that conflict over state policy doesn’t pose an existential threat to the Government of National Unity (GNU), but there is a hard line in the sand where the party will step away from the grouping and back into the opposition seats.

This hard line would be:

• Moves by the ANC in government to “crash the economy”
• Moves by the ANC in government to “trash the constitution”
• Putting the DA at odds with its promise to its voters to grow the economy and create jobs.
• Moves to undermine the independence of the South African Reserve Bank
• Moves to undermine property rights

Speaking to the Cape Town Press Club on Thursday (12 September), Steenhuisen tried to clarify the DA’s position on the GNU: specifically why the party is in it, how it aims to address conflicts, and where its limits are.

Broadly, he said that the DA is part of the GNU to use its vote share (22%) to help drive South Africa in a better direction. More so, it took up the position to protect the country from the alternative: having the ANC, EFF and MK party team up.

He added that where conflicts arise—as has been the case this week around the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill—the party will seek to find common ground and “constructive conflict” within the GNU. But that does not mean it won’t take matters further if it has to.

The hard line in the sand, however, is upholding the Constitution, driving economic growth and creating jobs, which is one of the few areas that all in the GNU found common ground on.

“The bottom line for the DA is an economy that grows and creates jobs. If the GNU can’t do that, there is no point in being part of it,” he said.

Steenhuisen said the reality is that the party only has 22% of the vote, and supporters need to accept that it cannot have its way in everything and fix every problem in government.

However, he added that the ANC should also acknowledge that it no longer has a majority vote, and it, too, cannot have its way in everything and just run roughshod through the other parties in the GNU.

“Our single priority is economic growth and job creation. Five years from now, we will judge ourselves on two simple metrics: is growth up, and is unemployment down?

“Let me be clear: I am not going to allow anything to get in the way of ensuring growth goes up and unemployment comes down,” he said.

Cracks showing

Steenhuisen rocked the GNU boat this week, saying that the president’s intention to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law on Friday would put the entire GNU at risk.

The DA have been fierce opponents of the bill—particularly provisions that give the ultimate power to approve admission and language policies of schools in South Africa to the government, at the expense of school governing bodies and communities.

Even after meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday evening, the DA leader repeated that the DA would have to “consider its options” should the signing of the bill proceed.

“If the President goes ahead tomorrow (Friday), the DA will have to consider all of our options on the way forward,” he said.

“In a multi-party government, leaders need to respect the constraints and imperatives of their partners. Any leader who tries to ride roughshod over their partners will pay the price—because a time will come when the shoe is on the other foot, and they will need the understanding of those same partners in turn.”

He said the same is true for the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.

While the BELA Bill is the first ‘hot topic’ item to be signed into law under the seventh administration, the NHI Act—signed a few weeks before the ANC lost its majority in the 2024 elections—remains a hugely contested piece of legislation.

Before the elections, the DA was preparing legal challenges against the laws. After the election, and ending up in the GNU, it switched its stance to that of trying to find common ground within govern,ent.

However, Steenhuisen said if this fails, the party could head to court.

“We will pursue the interests of the South African people through every other legal means at our disposal,” he said.

He added that if the ANC moves to undermine the independence of key institutions like the Reserve Bank or abolish property rights, “we (the DA) will have no part in it.” 

Steenhuisen said that conflict over policy in the GNU is not necessarily an existential threat to the government—”But that doesn’t mean the DA would never walk away under any circumstances.”

“The DA can never in good conscience be party to an assault on the constitution. And so, the DA will not crash the government unless the government is crashing the economy or trashing the constitution.”

Read: Ramaphosa’s pen brings the GNU’s first major hurdle – with more to come