Maimane slams Steenhuisen’s comments on DA 'coalition' with ANC

FORMER DA leader Mmusi Maimane said on Sunday that the party's announcement that it was considering a possible coalition with the ANC after the 2024 elections does not make sense.

Maimane was reacting to comments made by current party leader John Steenhuisen in the Sunday Times, with Steenhuisen saying the DA is keen to work with “reformists” in the ANC - such as President Cyril Ramaphosa - “to lift SA out of the doldrums”.

Steenhuisen told the paper that “the DA is anticipating an eventual split in the governing party, which would allow for those who share the same values as the official opposition to come together”.

He said the DA would not support any motion of no confidence in Ramaphosa especially if it was sponsored by the EFF, any other opposition party or a faction of the ANC.

Steenhuisen said corridor talk by some ANC MPs suggested that “the ANC is due to hold a national general council in May, where it's believed Ramaphosa's detractors could table a motion to oust him”.

Maimane on Sunday aired his views on Twitter on his former party's talk of a possible coalition and Steenhuisen's assertion that they could work with President Ramaphosa but not Deputy President David Mabuza or ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.

"Let’s start with a core issue South Africa must accept. There is no good ANC and no bad ANC. We have seen corruption from both factions and we have seen 27 years of mismanagement and misappropriation of state resources. I said this before and I will say it again. It’s the ANC.

“Today the DA is saying they are open to coalition with some factions of the ANC as long as @CyrilRamaphosa is the president. They are officially out of opposition and are now themselves a faction of the ANC. It’s an admission of defeat. A recognition that they can’t grow."

Speaking to Independent Media on Sunday, Maimane said that Steenhuisen was portraying the ANC as consisting of “good and bad” people and talk of a coalition with the good offered no clarity or clear analysis of the state of the ruling party.

"Maybe the DA has a list of the good people and the bad people but I don't have that list. Are they saying that the corruption took place under the bad ANC and the good ANC is coming?"

Steenhuisen and ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe did not respond to requests for comment.

Presidency spokesperson Tyrone Seale said this was a matter best left to the ANC and the DA to respond to.

– Political Bureau