Upcoming GNU meeting a test of Cabinet’s resolve

What exactly should the newly formed government of national unity (GNU) make its priority?

With the Cabinet lekgotla set to take place this week, many South Africans are optimistic. They are hoping that bread and-butter issues will be discussed at the top-level meeting.

Meanwhile, experts believe that service delivery will top the agenda as the GNU marks the start of its first 100 days in political office.

A lekgotla to ignite a dialouge

The two-day lekgotla will kick off on Thursday and chart the way forward for the GNU. However, analysts say ideological differences should be put aside as they could stall the process.

They add that everyone should put their shoulders to the wheel to address the ills plaguing the country. These include current stagnant economic growth, high unemployment, widespread poverty and the energy crisis.

Independent political analyst Goodenough Mashego said the commitments by former opposition ministers gave hope about the unity of purpose in the GNU.

Political economy analyst Daniel Silke said it was vital that the ministers had a grip on their new portfolios before taking on their roles.

The analysts agree that an over-emphasis on ideological differences could prevent the Cabinet from finding common ground.

Ministers with grand ideas

Mashego said Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson’s promise to prioritise the building of public infrastructure, such as constructing bridges instead of fixing ministerial houses and buying new furniture, was a good start.

The promise by Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie to bring marginal sports to the fore, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube’s idea to prioritise literacy and numeracy and not obsess about the matric pass rate and Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald’s suggestion that prisoners should produce their own food, were exciting reform undertakings.

“I think the lekgotla will produce the kind of results that will make people say ‘this is what government is about’,” he said.

He added that South Africa had lagged behind because the last 30 years were spent on keeping the ANC in power through patronage.

He cited the issuing of social grants to attract votes and warnings that these grants and student funding would end if the ANC lost power as examples.

“Out of the lekgotla should emerge a business model with lean but deliverable ideas in the interests of the nation,” he said.

“If you want to stimulate the economy, you need to put money into public works. You must build bridges, dams, roads, fix schools and public property – put in new gutters and ceilings. Pave the streets and attend to gardens. That alone will create much-needed jobs,” Mashego said.

Investment in the future

In the next five years, the government must plough billions into public infrastructure which will create employment. But projects must be monitored for delivery and against corruption.

Asked whether ideologies would interfere with service delivery, he said: “I think everybody accepts that the days of ideology are over.”

South Africa had been governed for the past 30 years on the basis of ideology. The ANC and the DA were stuck in their ideologies, but under President Cyril Ramaphosa, the former had gradually been drifting away from an ideology-driven approach.

This was why he was labelled by some as a Stellenbosch mafia “puppet”. The danger of the DA’s free-market economy ideology was the infusion of racial whiteness which the party should rid itself of.

The remaining GNU parties were not ideologically inclined, but were more rhetorical in their approaches, he added.

Mashego said foreign policy was most likely to be the main point of difference in the GNU. But opposition members had to understand that it was determined by SA’s constitution and its human rights culture.

“Foreign policy is based on your understanding of the history of the conflict in a particular country. You don’t jump into a conflict to please your funders.”

“The DA must understand that it’s not its job to dictate terms or to carry the brief of its funders. South Africa’s foreign policy is non-aligned and is based on human rights,” he said.

Silke said while some opposition parties in the Cabinet would be tempted to assertively apply their own ideas, the ANC would try to delay any quick introduction of reforms in state departments and even try to rein in “rebellious” DA ministers.

“A working arrangement ought to be established otherwise those differences could create a gridlock. You’ve got to settle those scores,” Silke said.