zille small parties are in gnu due to ramaphosas grace and favour

Zille: Small Parties Are In Gnu Due To Ramaphosa's 'grace And Favour'

Democratic Alliance DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille says the only parties that can bring down the government of national unity GNU are the DA and African National Congress ANC.

The smaller parties are only in the GNU courtesy of President Cyril Ramaphosas grace and favour, she added at a DA leadership media briefing on Tuesday 29 January.

Besides the ANC and DA, the 10-member GNU also include the Patriotic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party IFP, Good Party, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Freedom Front Plus, United Democratic Movement, Al Jama-ah and Rise Mzansi.

The ANC and DA make up nearly 62 of the seats in Parliament, well above the simple majority threshold required to form a government. All the 10 GNU members make up a 70 majority in Parliament.

Helen Zille on the GNU

Zille accused Ramaphosa of failing to consult the DA before accepting new parties in the GNU. When we signed the Statement of Intent , clause 24 said the original signatories would have to agree among themselves before new people could join this GNU, she claimed.

At the time we elected President Ramaphosa as the President of the country, because that was when the Statement of Intent became operable, there were three founding parties - DA, ANC and IFP. Within four or five days, the President was announcing all sorts of other people who joined without any respect to clause 24.

The exact wording of clause 24 is as follows: In keeping with the spirit of an inclusive GNU, it is agreed that the composition shall be discussed and agreed amongst the existing parties, whenever new parties desire to be part of the GNU.

Ramaphosas grace and favour

So, the only parties that can bring down the government are the DA and the ANC. Every other party in the government is there by the grace and favour of President Ramaphosa, Zille claimed.

And if you are a minister or a deputy minister or a chair of a committee, you have to please President Ramaphosa because he is the person who holds your fate in his hands. Thats what the ANC wants from the smaller parties, because then they have a little halleluiah chorus that supports them on everything that they do.

And its very convenient for the ANC not always having to fight with us - they get their proxies to fight with us. But the proxies are of course going to side with the ANC, no matter what they said in the election, because President Ramaphosa can relieve them from their positions.