The DA-ANC co-operation agreement referred to as the Government of National (GNU) might further close down a formidable line of opposition parties’ attack on the DA provincial government.
That’s the view of policy analyst and researcher Nkosikhulule Nyembezi who argues that DA errors will be unforced.
“That does not mean the benefits that accrue to the opposition ANC will be pure luck, as it must ensure robust oversight,” he said.
His sentiment follows concerns about the impact of the GNU on the ANC’s role as opposition in the Western Cape where the DA won an outright majority.
ANC leader of the opposition in the legislature, Khalid Sayed said the ANC has demonstrated that it will put the country’s interests ahead of narrow party interests.
“The needs of South Africans come before all else. We will work with all parties that have the best interests of the people at heart, nationally and in the Western Cape.
“The inequalities we see in our province are there for all to see. The pledges in our manifesto around better jobs and a vibrant modern economy where township economies and small businesses are revived, equal access to healthcare, more community-based safety initiatives and increased human settlement development that disrupts apartheid spatial planning will remain the focus of our campaigning in the opposition benches,” said Sayed.
Nyembezi said the opposition ANC will struggle to attract public attention until “the DA makes a mistake”.
“Then, the pillory will be merciless. If it attacks the government without better solutions, it will be carping from the sidelines. When it comes up with a better plan, the government will most likely nick it. If it has ambitions but few policies tailored to the specific needs of the province, critics will say there is no substance. If it goes into detail, pundits will lament an absence of vision or deviation from the national ANC priorities.
“The ANC in the province has had mixed success grappling with those dilemmas even before the GNU era, and it is not hard to imagine scenarios where conferences were mired in recrimination over missed opportunities and consumed by factional feuding. It might have been enjoying a bounce in opinion polls over the Palestine solidarity campaign.”
Meanwhile, president of the Black Association of the Agricultural Sector, and chief negotiator for the Elgin Democratic Workers’ Union of South Africa (Adwusa), Nosey Pieterse said he was concerned about the ANC entering an alliance with the DA.
“They may have to walk on egg (shells) in this relationship. I am concerned at this stage because of them still having to allocate the portfolios.
In the area of labour for example, the DA is against the national minimum wage.
“They say our labour laws stifle job creation but it is in compliance with the International Labour Organisation (ILO). What is going to happen to BRICS and Palestine? They described the ANC in the ugliest way possible.
It was a shock for me to hear they are going to form an alliance,” said Pieterse.
Cape Times