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‘DA is holding the country to ransom’ – Kunene on GNU negotiations
The senior Patriotic Alliance member had strong words for his DA counterparts, accusing them of negotiating in bad faith.
Kenny Kunene of the Patriotic Alliance. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
The postponed announcement of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s executive is due to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) greed, says Patriotic Alliance’s Kenny Kunene.
The provincial executive was due to be named on Sunday but protracted negotiations forced a last-minute delay.
Speaking to eNCA on Monday morning, Kunene vented his frustrations at the DA, blaming the party for leaving the nation on ‘’auto-pilot”.
Claims of DA hypocrisy
Kunene was irate in highlighting what he felt was hypocrisy from the DA when it claimed that the PA was motivated by power and positions.
“They want to dictate to the Premier who to appoint. They are trying to rule Gauteng through the backdoor,” said Kunene.
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This underlying tone was prevalent at a national level, alluded Kunene, who was not shy with his assessment of the DA’s head negotiators.
“The DA are a bunch, especially the federal executive, of white supremacists who have this superiority complex and who believe black people are inferior.”
He accused the DA of making unreasonable demands and having nefarious intentions in trying to have party leader John Steenhuisen appointed deputy president.
“The DA is not intending on doing good for South Africa. The DA is planning on taking South Africa through the back door and making the Western Cape a country. We will never allow that to happen.”
EFF can still humble the DA
Kunene believes the EFF could have done better by being a neutralising factor in the negotiations and he urged the EFF to join the Government of Nation Unity (GNU) in order to humble the DA.
“This arrogance of the DA is based on knowing the EFF can not be part of this GNU,” he said.
Demanding the parties negotiate in good faith, he added: “The DA has made threats that it will walk away from this GNU. Let them walk away. They are not putting the country first; they are putting their greed for power first.”
“Mayfair like Mogadishu”
Kunene is leading negotiations provincially and described the Gauteng talks between the PA and ANC as jovial and cordial.
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He confirmed the PA wanted the Home Affairs and Police portfolios nationally but said they did not make any specific demands at a provincial level.
A priority for the PA in Gauteng is to have a service delivery orientated portfolio that would tackle illegal immigration, with Kunene saying “Mayfair is like Mogadishu”.
In accepting whatever task the are given, he concluded: “We have wishes not demands. We hope they give us a Bentley and not a Suzuki”.
