By Lee-Yandra Paulsen
Earlier this month, Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, praised the Government of National Unity (GNU), claiming it was thriving, unlike other parties. He pointed to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) losing Floyd Shivambu to the MK party as an example of such challenges. However, while McKenzie, leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), insists the GNU is prospering, others believe it is faltering.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has expressed disappointment over President Ramaphosa signing the BELA Bill, with DA leader John Steenhuisen accusing the President of “endangering” the future of the GNU by proceeding with the bill. This has raised concerns about the coalition’s stability, especially in its early stages.
Speaking on VOC NewsBeat, Political Analyst Asanda Ngoasheng highlighted the constitutional process involved in signing a bill. “It’s interesting because, before a President signs a bill, it must go through parliament and public participation processes. So, for this bill to reach the President’s desk, it has met all constitutional requirements.”
“There were public workshops, people made their submissions, and it was debated in the last parliament. The DA and other parties opposed to it were part of the debate, but their arguments didn’t succeed,” Ngoasheng explained.
She added that the President acted within his prerogative by signing the bill into law.
“For me, this shows that the DA misunderstood the power the African National Congress (ANC) still holds, even in a Government of National Unity. They assumed that because the ANC shares power, it lacks the capacity to run the government alone, which is not true. The ANC has governed for 30 years without the DA’s help. The main difference now is that the ANC didn’t secure an outright majority, getting 40% of the vote instead of the usual 50%,” said Ngoasheng.
Listen to the full interview below
VOC News
Photo: Pixabay
