Democratic Alliance (DA) federal chairperson Helen Zille has admitted that her party prioritised business interests. She said the DA was instructed by business to protect President Cyril Ramaphosa from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
The DA has raised red flags over uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the EFF being in government, stating they were a bunch of criminals who would run the country into the ground.
According to the blue party, Julius Malema’s EFF and former president Jacob Zuma’s MKP were not suitable for the country because big investors would leave the country.
Most of this was said before and after the May 29 elections which saw the ANC lose its outright majority, forcing it to form a coalition government.
The MKP gave the DA chest pains after securing staggering successes in the elections, making them the third-largest growing party in the country.
The DA said this was a disaster and this would cause people, particularly the business community, to lose interest and somehow take their business elsewhere.
Fitch, a ratings firm, had also warned that macroeconomic stability may be threatened by a possible partnership between the ANC and the MKP or the EFF.
This also caused an uproar among some people who accused the DA of manipulating the rand.
The DA is part of the Government of National Unity (GNU) which is led by the ANC.
Last week, the SA Chamber of Commerce UK hosted Zille, where she shared her thoughts on the country's developments after the elections.
“Most of the business community wanted us to prop up Cyril Ramaphosa and protect him from the EFF and MK. That is what they wanted us to do,” she said.
Many organisations, including the ANC allies, said the GNU was a deliberate sellout move, stressing that getting into bed with the DA was a spit in the face of embattled black South Africans.
The SA Community Party’s general secretary Solly Mapaila told the ANC that they were not happy with the negotiations involving the DA.
Mapaila said the DA was not for black people and would never develop the black community.
Meanwhile, most parties including the ANC, have reflected on the 100 days of GNU. Many of them were happy with the results so far.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
IOL Politics