Step up: Zizi Kodwa quit as a minister when he was charged with corruption, but was persuaded to be sworn in as an MP along with the delayed uMkhonto we Sizwe reps. Photo: Brenton Geach/Getty Images
Thursday.
It appears to be take-it-or-leave-it time, there at the government of national unity.
The head of state has, we are told, played his final cards in the game of political poker he and his comrades have been playing with the Democratic Alliance (DA) since they realised that their majority was gone.
Word has it that Cyril Ramaphosa has had enough of the haggling — and whining — over the small print in the statement of intent among the government of national unity partners from certain quarters.
The president, we are told, had made his final offer in terms of cabinet composition, and is no longer willing to entertain any further to-and-fro with the blue party — all within a week of being sworn in.
The parties were, at the time of writing, consulting on Ramaphosa’s final offer, which apparently gives the DA the six cabinet seats they were originally offered before their letter of demand for twice that number went public.
The other eight parties that have signed up for the unity government are all ready to sign on the dotted line, with the general consensus being that the president should be able to name his cabinet by Sunday — Helen permitting — and get busy with the business of the next five years.
Not bad for a president with a reputation for being far more likely to appoint a committee — or a commission — than take an actual decision during his first five years in office. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the next five.
Ramaphosa may have turned over a new leaf, but his party has certainly made it clear that it has not.
How else can one interpret the fact that the ANC has once again side-stepped its own step-aside rule and returned yet another criminally charged individual to join the people of the 15th in the National Assembly? The party’s pre-election promises of renewal and regeneration appear to have been just that — promises — with corruption-charged Zizi Kodwa segueing swiftly from standing down to being sworn in.
The ANC’s commitment to renewal lasted just about as long as Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s Nasi Ispani programme — its workers got some very bad but not totally unexpected news this week — and appears to have been delivered with similar intent.
Both appear to have disappeared within weeks of the punters going to the polls and the votes being counted, an outcome predicted by the more cynical among us.
Kodwa took the oath along with members of the uMkhonto weSizwe party on Tuesday — charges and ethics be damned — on the basis of the small print in the ANC’s step-aside resolution.
Zizi went from Palm Ridge court to parliament in a matter of weeks — a far cry from the scenic route to the National Assembly taken by Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie — and the ANC’s claim that it was actually cleaning up its act this time around went out the window.
Charged comrades are, we are told, obligated to step aside from the active leadership roles that come with the parliamentary position — or council seat — after they have been charged and appeared in court.
They are not, however, expected to step aside from the more important tasks that come with a place on the ANC list to the National Assembly — votes in the House and campaigning at election time come to mind most swiftly.
They are also not forced to step aside from the collection of the parliamentary paycheck, or any of the other perks and benefits in the honourable members’ handbook, that they and the rest of the cohort in the House are entitled to.
Step aside for who?
One wonders whether the parliamentary calendar will sync with that of the Palm Ridge court to avoid double bookings for the honourable Kodwa, who will be swearing an oath of a different kind in the not-too-distant future.
Will speaker Thoko Didiza write “court appearance” next to Zizi’s name in the apologies book when he is in court, or will the honourable member have to submit a sick note — or a leave form — for the days he misses when he is attending court?
Perhaps, with video conferencing, he will be able to participate in committees from court, or vice versa, with no need for sick notes, leave forms or embarrassing entries in the parliamentary register for students of our history to stumble upon in future millenia.
Time — and Hansard — shall tell.