AS last week marked 100 days in office for the Government of National Unity (GNU), critics expect it to be more of same the country has seen over decades, with no real changes to improve the lives of the poor.
Civil rights organisation Real Democracy has raised concerns about the coalition partners in the GNU, arguing that it was a marriage of convenience designed to maintain the status quo.
Without an outright majority winner in the May 29 elections, the ANC, DA, IFP and smaller parties, except for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), EFF and ActionSA, had agreed to join forces and work together as one government.
“This union between the ANC and DA, which are two parties traditionally viewed as political adversaries, is far from a partnership rooted in common goals for the benefit of the people,” said Real Democracy chair Srini Naidoo.
“Rather, it seems to be the latest iteration of a Western-backed strategy, familiar in its execution, aimed at protecting corporate interests while side-lining the needs of South Africa’s poor and marginalised.
“For decades, the ANC, under the weight of neo-liberal policies, has failed to meaningfully address issues such as land redistribution and economic justice.
“The DA, with its open support for corporate capitalism, has shown little concern for the struggles of the black working class and Indigenous communities. Together, these parties are now positioned to ensure that transformational policies remain out of reach.”
Naidoo said the land issue, which has been a central talking point in South African politics, was expected to be placed on the back burner once again.
“The ANC has always used land reform as a convenient rallying point when election season approaches, only to delay meaningful action when in power. This coalition will likely continue that trend, keeping land reform as a political football to secure votes while refusing to enact the structural changes necessary for true land justice.
“Worse, the nationalisation of key institutions, such as the South African Reserve Bank, and the creation of state banks to challenge private banking monopolies are unlikely to materialise under the ANC-DA coalition.
“These neo-liberal bedfellows have no intention of disrupting the economic architecture that has enriched corporate elites while millions of South Africans remain mired in poverty,” said Naidoo.
Speaking on the SABC last week, political economist Duma Gqubule painted a bleak future for the GNU. “I hope it collapses and we can begin to think about what change will look like. The prospects are not good for South Africans, especially the youth because my focus is unemployment.
“After 100 days, they have never said anything about how they are going to address this unemployment crisis. Nothing from the central bank and nothing from the Treasury; they are just planning to tighten the screws of these failed micro-economies.
“What they are going to do in the Budget in 2025 is introduce a primary surplus target of 2% and an inflation target of 4.5%, which will make the economic crisis worse.”
Gqubule said different results could not be expected when the same things were done repeatedly.
He said the ANC was repeating the same failed economic policies, adding that it felt like the same ANC, which has been in government for three decades.
“They are doing the same thing, and the results will be the same as they were over the past 15 years. According to my modelling, the number of unemployed people is going to increase by two million to 14.4 million by the end of this administration, while at the same time, unemployment will increase by 44.6%, Gqubule said.
Independent political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said the ANC has had 30 years to deliver on its promise of “a better life for all” but has failed in spite of its political dominance. “The masses of African people remain outsiders and squatters in the country of their birth. They are trapped in conditions of squalor.
“Unemployment, inequality, and degrading poverty remain their daily experiences. In 2022, the World Bank declared South Africa a poster child of global inequality.
“The success or otherwise of the GNU must be measured by the extent to which it addresses these material conditions. Addressing these conditions would require more than the question of who occupies which offices or portfolios.”
Seepe said 100 days were inadequate to address South Africa’s structural problems. He said ministers needed to stop the media campaigns aimed at polishing their image and start doing real work.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za