Gwede Mantashe Is Not Sure If Eff And Mk Party Will Be Better Than Da In Gnu
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe says he is not sure if the Economic Freedom Fighters EFF and uMkhonto weSizwe MK Party will be better than the Democratic Alliance DA in the government of national unity GNU.
Mantashe made the remarks at the governments official Freedom Day event in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, on Sunday 27 April. He was representing President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was unwell with flu.
Gwede Mantashe on EFF and MK Party as potential GNU partnersAlthough it was a government event, Mantashe could not resist discussing party political affairs. He dismissed critics who are unhappy with the African National Congress ANC including the DA in the GNU.
It takes us all the time to explain that you never negotiate with your friends. You negotiate with your enemy. If you are engaging your friends, its a picnic, but if you want to build something, you form a coalition of forces that are contending, he said.
The ANC and DA, the two largest parties in the GNU , have clashed on several policy issues in recent months, including the Expropriation Act, National Health Insurance and Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.
They have also differed sharply on South Africas 2025 budget and whether to increase value added tax VAT or not. However, Mantashe, who is also the ANCs National Chairperson, believes the EFF and MK Party are just as hostile to the ANC as the DA.
Ideology has no colour. Ideology is a mindset. We can leave the DA out of the GNU but Im not sure if MK Party and EFF are better options, he argued.
They are so aggressive and hostile against the ANC. So, its like choosing between a devil and running into a fire. You run away from the devil you get into the fire. You burn anyway.
The EFF has indicated willingness to join the GNU - but only if it does not include the DA and Freedom Front Plus .
Following the DAs decision to vote against the budgets fiscal framework in Parliament, ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile said the party had decided to bring other parties into the GNU.