Deputy Minister of Public Works Sihle Zikalala. Picture: Gallo Images
Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast, a political analyst from Nelson Mandela University (NMU), says the government of national unity (GNU), the clearinghouse, should resolve differences between the ANC and the DA on implementing the Expropriation Act.
This comes after continuous public spats between the Minister of Public Works, Dean Macpherson, and his deputy, Sihle Zikalala, over implementing the Expropriation Act.
During a parliamentary sitting on Tuesday, Zikalala called out Macpherson for refusing to implement the controversial law even though parliament mandated him to.
“They have that platform where they settle their differences; they can go there. It is not easy, but they should be able to handle conflict situations,” he said.
However, Breakfast criticised Macpherson for publicly refusing to implement a law, as expected.
“He is a Cabinet minister, and parliament has mandated him to implement the law; why not implement [it] while the DA is taking the matter on legal review and other processes take place?” he said.
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Breakfast said he believed the conflict between Zikalala and Macpherson to be deep-rooted.
He said he believes other factors contributing to this tension could be Zikalala’s once holding the position of minister of public works and being more educated than Macpherson.
“What you have here is a deputy minister who has been the minister and does not see himself as a junior of the minister.
“You have a deputy minister in question who holds a master’s degree, is an experienced person, and is deputising someone with a matric,” he said.
Breakfast said both ministers must respect each other equally, despite representing two different political ideologies.
“I do not want to exaggerate and say the conflicts can be done away with. It’s about how they manage the situation and their level of maturity,” he said.
Breakfast said land and private property are thorny issues in South Africa, as they are in many parts of the world.
“This is a thorny issue; it tends to be a protracted conflict because people have differing views. This has to do with wealth creation because if you have land, you can benefit from it,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an interview on Newzroom Afrika, Zikalala continued taking jabs against Macpherson on Thursday morning.
He described Macpherson’s behaviour as embarrassing to the country and the Cabinet.
He said Mcpherson is further creating an impression that the Expropriation Act target a certain group of people.
“If you then go publicly and say you will not be implementing this Act and you will not implement other things, it means you are going against that Act,
“If a minister talks badly about his government, what do you expect to be the international community’s response?” he said.
The Citizen had reached out to Macpherson for comment on the matter. However, his spokesperson, James de Villiers, had not responded to questions from the publication at the time this article was published.
The Citizen had also contacted the DA for comment, but the questions were redirected to the office of the minister of public works.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has appealed to all GNU ministers to be collegial with each other even when they have differences.
ALSO READ: Expropriation Act: ‘Contradictory processes’ will prevent implementation, says Macpherson
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