No deal in Gauteng as ANC and DA can’t find each other

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng said it will host a press conference on Tuesday night.

The party said the briefing will discuss the end of negotiations between the DA and the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng which have broken down.

This comes after talks between the two parties continued behind closed doors on Tuesday.

Postponed

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s cabinet announcement for the seventh administration in Gauteng was abruptly halted for a second time at the eleventh hour on Monday night.

This, as the DA said it would not be part of the announcement after it was offered only two positions in Lesufi’s executive. Gauteng is now the only province without an executive.

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘Lesufi in denial that voters rejected him and ANC’ – DA

Bad faith

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga accused the ANC of negotiating in “bad faith” after Lesufi planned to make an announcement before an agreement could be reached between the two parties.

“It is important to note that we were not even informed of that (announcement). We only learnt of a press conference through the media” he told eNCA.

”They said they were giving us one or two positions and two chairperson portfolios, We said that is not acceptable to us.”

DA ‘demands’

The ANC provincial leadership, in a media briefing after the postponement of the announcement, said it could not agree with the DA’s demands.

The deadlock frustrated residents as they wait for meaningful change.

Gauteng head of elections Lebogang Maile said it was not the first time the DA and the ANC had reached a deadlock in their negotiations.

Maile believed the DA wanted to bully the ANC and, while the ANC was prepared to negotiate, it would not allow the party to be bullied.

ALSO READ: Gauteng without executive council as ANC and DA lock horns