DA backtracks on motion of no confidence, commits to GNU

The DA has backtracked on its threat to implement a motion of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa, despite tensions between the two parties. 

DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille confirmed on Tuesday that her party would not be proceeding with the motion "for now", but emphasised that they would not be bullied by the ANC within the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Experts have viewed the move by the DA leader as "grandstanding" and "seeking attention" because the party knows that they can't afford to leave the GNU.

The DA and the ANC have been at loggerheads since the axing of Trade and Industry deputy minister Andrew Whitfield last week, resulting in the DA announcing that it would be withdrawing from the National Dialogue.

The party has since accused Ramaphosa of double standards, saying that he condoned corruption after he became mum following the DA's calls to fire Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane.

Nkabane is embroiled in the appointment of boards for Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

Political analysts have weighed the situation, with some suggesting that the DA is grandstanding with their threats.

Professor Sipho Seepe said that the DA is grandstanding and that the market would quickly self-correct if the rand were to crash.

"The DA likes grandstanding. Yes, the rand may crash, but the market will quickly self-correct. 

"Having said this, the ANC is unlikely to kick the DA out of the GNU. The GNU is big business. The very big business had funded Ramaphosa's presidency. Ramaphosa is unlikely to bite the hand that feeds him," Seepe said.

He said the DA hated the idea of the ANC, EFF, and the MK Party government so much that it would rather stick it out. 

"Besides, the decision to walk out of the GNU will be dictated by big business, not Helen Zille…The same applies to the idea of tabling the motion of no confidence… Such a step would leave the ANC with no option but to kick the DA out of this marriage of inconvenience. It is a gamble that many in the DA would frown upon," Seepe said.

Another analyst, Sandile Swana, said Zille's reasons for staying in the GNU were arbitrary and not scientifically grounded. 

"The DA has not been able to grow the economy by more than 2% in the Western Cape. They have lingered around 2% but it was required to grow at 5.4%. The DA has governed the Western Cape and Cape Town for some time. There is increased unemployment in the province and the metro, more than in any other province in the country.

"The DA and big business are using the GNU to prevent the MKP and the EFF from being part of the government," Swana said.

He said if an opportunity would present itself, the EFF would take up a place in the GNU and continue working with Ramaphosa as they did not agree that Ramaphosa handled the Phala Phala matter correctly.

Zille said that while the DA has the numbers to potentially outvote the president, they would instead take intermediate steps to address their concerns.

"The president can fire us from the GNU, and there are many people from the ANC wishing that he would fire us. But here is the thing, if he fires us the rand will crash, the economy will go into a tailspin, investors will withdraw, unemployment will increase, and we will probably be pushed out of AGOA and tariffs will go up." 

Zille, however, said that it did not mean that her party would be bullied by the ANC within the GNU and that they had a plan if Ramaphosa booted out the DA from the GNU.

"They (ANC) want to do what we call a constructive dismissal of us, and that's why they keep doing this again and again… We would have corruption on steroids and we would have the MK Party (uMkhonto weSizwe Party) or the EFF coming in which would be a disaster.

"The ANC would love it if we just walked out on our own and took the blame, but we are not going to do that… But we are not going to be treated like a doormat either," Zille said. 

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has warned the DA that Ramaphosa will not tolerate disrespect from deputy ministers. Mbalula said that they are taking the DA's threats to collapse the GNU seriously.

mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za