I see that John Steenhuizen is taking a firm grasp on the reins of power as the leader of the second most powerful party in South Africa, as well as in the GNU. True to form, President Ramaphosa; having initially presented himself as much more statesmanlike than usual in the aftermath of the election; and in light of the crushing loss of 17% in the voting, is now starting to backtrack on his promises to work on correcting the wrongs of poor governance and usher in a new era of ‘working for the country and the people’. Consequently, he and Fikile Mbalula are now engaged with the DA in a battle whereby he hopes to wriggle-out of giving significantly important cabinet posts to the DA.
Ramaphosa is playing ‘hard to get’ games with the DA but it’s not going to work that well because the political playing fields have now changed dramatically.
The ANC can no longer rely on patronage and domination to enforce their will on the country, without much opposition. That era, driven by totalitarianism, is now well and truly over!
Regarding the ANC pushing to invite new members to join the GNU the ANC are blatantly ignoring the signed agreement between the GNU partners; as recently argued by Helen Ziller. In fact, Mbalula admits to failing to read the agreement, as he took it to be ‘a guarantee of good faith’.
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN. THEY WANT CHANGE!
The ANC hierarchy seem to be in a state of limbo or shell shock at the moment, whereby they think that they can ignore the enormous impact of their voter support having dropped to 41%; and they don’t seem to realise that according to the statement of intent by members of the GNU, to get their way regarding acceptance of any piece of legislation; they need to have a 60% share of the votes of all parties holding seats in the National Assembly
A tactic that the ANC appears to be using is to maximise the number of parties in the GNU to dilute the power of the DA. Although this tactic might be somewhat effective, and is surely irritating the DA, I doubt that it will work that well because the DA will fight them on that and every other issue; and the DA is very good at that, even if it means going to court – AGAIN!; and the DA clearly is in for the long haul, and they have endless patience. The other thing is that despite recent events; generally whatever the ANC tries usually fails; mainly because they are simply not smart enough!
MAJOR BREAKING NEWS! Solly Malatse, the DA’s National Spokesperson has reported that currently, Ramaphosa is holding intensive discussions with various leaders of political factions in the GNU regarding a huge overhaul of the ANC cabinet. This has been hailed as a ‘master stroke of political strategy that could shake the foundations of South Africa’s political landscape’. This move signifies Cyril’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and forging a robust coalition capable of navigating South Africa through its myriad challenges as it completely reconstitutes its cabinet. (source – edited Afro-Trend podcast). We’ll have to see what happens on that front.
It seems that Ramaphosa’s list of cabinet ministers is nearing completion and should be announced some time next in the coming week.
What we do know is that Bheki Cele, the police minister is out – and there is a leak – saying that Gayton Mackenzie of the PA is to be the next minister of police!
Now, to make matters even more difficult, the DA is threatening to leave the GNU due to then ANC’s recalcitrant stance on the DA’s reluctance to allow the ANC to allow a seemingly unlimited invitation for parties to join the GNU.
Watch this space as WEIGHTY MATTERS ARE AFOOT!
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