{"id":779059,"date":"2024-06-27T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=779059"},"modified":"2024-06-26T19:44:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T17:44:50","slug":"the-parties-that-said-no-to-ramaphosas-government-of-national-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/779059\/the-parties-that-said-no-to-ramaphosas-government-of-national-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"The parties that said no to Ramaphosa&#8217;s Government of National Unity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>While ten out of the eighteen parties represented in Parliament have chosen to form part of the seventh administration&#8217;s wide-ranging co-governing agreement, labelled the Government of National Unity (GNU), eight have opted to sit on the opposition benches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The parties that have turned down the GNU include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ActionSA;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>African Christian Democratic Movement (ACDP);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>National Coloured Congress (NCC);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build One South Africa (BOSA);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>African Transformation Movement (ATM):<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and the United Africans Transformation (UAT).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These eight political parties, which make up the opposition, hold a combined 113 (28.25%) of the 400 seats in Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to their many ideologically disparate views, these eight opposition parties are not forming one united opposition to counter the GNU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there has been an attempt at unifying under the banner of the so-called &#8220;progressive caucus.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-160.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"695\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-160.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-779070\" style=\"width:836px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-160.png 752w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-160-300x277.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Seventh administration opposition parties. Graphic: Seth Thorne<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The formation of the co-governing agreement resulted from no single political party achieving an outright majority in the May 29th general elections, with the African National Congress (ANC) dropping to just over 39% of support nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the ANC invited all parties in Parliament to agree to the principles and sign the statement of intent for the GNU, several declined the invitation for various reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who have agreed to form part of the GNU collectively hold 287 (71.75%) out of 400 seats in Parliament, giving them a supermajority\u2014which is one of the key reasons some have opted to steer away from the GNU.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-161.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"766\" height=\"754\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-161.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-779125\" style=\"width:764px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-161.png 766w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-161-300x295.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 766px) 100vw, 766px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Seventh administration GNU parties. Graphic: Seth Thorne<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-businesstech wp-block-embed-businesstech\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Ob8zIbOd12\"><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/778384\/south-africas-government-of-national-unity-grows-to-10-as-cabinet-reshuffle-looms\/\">South Africa&#8217;s Government of National Unity grows to 10 as cabinet reshuffle looms<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;South Africa&#8217;s Government of National Unity grows to 10 as cabinet reshuffle looms&#8221; &#8212; BusinessTech\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/778384\/south-africas-government-of-national-unity-grows-to-10-as-cabinet-reshuffle-looms\/embed\/#?secret=IW33rB6Fjx#?secret=Ob8zIbOd12\" data-secret=\"Ob8zIbOd12\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;<strong>Progressive caucus<\/strong>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MK Party, EFF, ATM and UAT, making up a combined 100 seats (25%) in Parliament, have formed the self-titled &#8220;progressive caucus,&#8221; purportedly to push for ideologically left policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The parties in the caucus have made it explicit that none of them would work with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus (FF+), who are currently part of the GNU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, the MK Party has expressed refusal to work with the current leadership of the ANC &#8211; including newly elected president Cyril Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the announcement of the GNU, the caucus was established as an alternative group of parties that the ANC could form a majority government, saying that those currently part of the co-governing agreement are &#8216;not ideologically compatible to work with the ANC.&#8217;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, since then, the progressive caucus has lost its pull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United Democratic Movement (UDM), Al Jama-ah and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) left the grouping to form part of the GNU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ATM president, Vuyolwethu Zungula, said that despite this, the progressive caucus has remained intact, arguing that it &#8220;would be bad for democracy&#8221; if all represented parties joined the GNU and would sit on the opposition benches &#8220;to hold the government to account.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>ActionSA, ACDP, BOSA and NCC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ActionSA, ACDP and BOSA leaders recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.enca.com\/videos\/panel-discussion-eight-parties-refuse-join-gnu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told eNCA<\/a> various reasons why they have not signed the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the initial discussions around the formation of the GNU, ActionSA publicly disclosed its decision not to engage, citing adherence to its electoral commitment of not aligning with the ANC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Party chairperson Michael Beaumont highlighted that ActionSA believes that it should maintain an opposition presence in Parliament to ensure accountability, in light of the GNU&#8217;s significant majority vote share, which exceeds 70%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kenneth Meshoe, the ACDP leader, also articulated reasons for his party&#8217;s non-participation in the GNU, primarily the refusal to collaborate with the ANC and a commitment to accountability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meshoe referenced the current economic and unemployment challenges as factors complicating cooperation with the ruling party&#8217;s approach to governance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mmusi Maimane, the BOSA leader, pointed out concerns regarding what he believes is a lack of defined plans for the country&#8217;s next phase of administration, suggesting that involvement seemed to focus more on negotiating positions rather than committing to a cohesive plan of action for South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maimane said that if his party were to join the GNU, a dialogue between all political parties would be necessary to &#8220;piece together that plan&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fadiel Adams, NCC leader, stated his party&#8217;s objection to joining the GNU due to its inclusion of certain parties, specifically highlighting the difficulty of aligning with groups on the political right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/778988\/2024-national-election-polls-vs-the-actual-results-and-the-one-that-nailed-it\/\">2024 National Election polls vs the actual results \u2013 and the one that nailed it<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While numerous parties have signed on to form part of the Government of National Unity &#8211; some have chosen to sit squarely in the opposition seats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":779117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[12613,19493,1554,19991,6934,2787,20065,7259],"class_list":["post-779059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-acdp","tag-actionsa","tag-atm","tag-bosa","tag-eff","tag-ncc","tag-seventh-administration","tag-umkhonto-we-sizwe-mk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779059"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":779176,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779059\/revisions\/779176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}