EFF, MK will be ‘good opposition’ – experts

U mkhonto weSizwe (MK) party will behave well as the official opposition in parliament and hold the government of national unity (GNU) to account, according to analysts.

The rogue’s gallery of the 58 MK members sworn in as MPs include former Western Cape judge John Hlophe, ex-EFF MP Andile Mngxitama and former minister of finance for four days Des van Rooyen.

But most political analysts believed the party will bring a robust and constructive opposition to the GNU. Independent political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said the “quality of MK members is promising”.

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Led by Hlophe and including the likes of Mngxitama, we should expect robust engagement. This will complement an already experienced team from the EFF, led by Julius Malema.

“Besides, there has not been any childish behaviour from MK members,” said Seepe.

Holding government to account

Thabang Motswaledi from the department of politics and international relations at North-West University agreed.

Bringing in Hlophe showed MK would hold the government to account in a respected manner, he said.

South Africans should see the intellectual capacity of MK coming to the fore “and I think that was also their reason for choosing Hlophe to be their caucus leader when it comes to parliamentary matters,” Motswaledi said.

“He is going to be valuable intellectually and legally to ensure that the party can hold the government accountable.” The MK team would be a vital watchdog, he said.

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The former judge also has a score to settle with the ANC as he was impeached.

The experienced and mature members of the EFF will add to the opposition’s strength, Motswaledi said.

“We are going to see a lot of court cases that will arise in terms of certain portfolios that will fail to perform. And we are not expecting to see chaotic behaviour in the upcoming sittings of the parliament.”

Themba Godi, a former member of the National Assembly and a well-known political figure, has a different view of the matter.

He believed there would be perpetual tension if the ANC-DA coalition persists, as both MK and the EFF have historical anger against the ANC.

“There is also likely competition to be the main opposition between MK and EFF, leading to more militant postures in the House,” Godi said.

“MK, aggrieved with President Cyril Ramaphosa and most of his policy positions, might be less likely to cooperate with the ruling coalition in parliament.

EFF will behave differently

“We will not, however, see the youthful anarchy of the EFF that we saw in the past.

“So far it also appears that the MK party will take a more [African] nationalist position, without a clear socialist economic position,” said Godi.

Political expert Goodenough Mashego said a mature approach when addressing issues in parliament would assist the MK Party, as the public was tired of seeing unruly behaviour in parliament. “I think the EFF, MK and other small parties will be able to mount a successful opposition to the GNU as they are sitting at a two-thirds majority.

“MK and the EFF can be effective if they could be reasonable and oppose what they believe is wrong, instead of opposing for opposing’s sake. If they enter parliament with a mind-set of being opposition parties, they are going to annoy people.

“They must become an alternative government, proposing solutions to the problems, instead of just criticising,” Mashego said.