The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday began an urgent meeting of its federal executive, against the backdrop of three separate sets of meetings called by the ANC to address the ongoing crisis in the 10-party coalition government.
The ANC’s national working committee (NWC) was hosting meetings with political parties throughout Wednesday, while the party’s chief whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, was in talks with fellow party whips.
The third, critical meeting would see President Cyril Ramaphosa hold discussions with leaders of other parties in the government of national unity (GNU).
So far, DA leader John Steenhuisen had not received an invitation. Two sources suggested that at this point the plan was to include only leaders of parties who had voted in support of the fiscal framework last week.
The DA has, however, been invited for talks with the NWC.
The 20-member committee has, since Monday, been dealing with the political drama sparked by the DA’s revolt on the budget, which began in mid-February when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana abandoned his first attempt after Steenhuisen made clear the party would not vote in support of a two percentage point VAT increase.
The ANC has been angered by the DA’s refusal to budge despite the finance minister reducing the VAT hike to one percentage point, staggered over two years, in his reworked budget tabled on 12 March.
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula on Tuesday threw down the gauntlet, saying the DA should either serve “divorce papers” or provide an explanation as to how it expected to stay in the coalition after voting against the fiscal framework.
“If the ANC tomorrow takes a decision that we are abandoning the GNU, we are out — it is the ANC’s decision. The DA must then answer the question, not us,” Mbalula said. “If you are part of a government, and you don’t agree with the budget, how do you continue to sit there? It’s a logical question.”
Sources said the DA had replied to the invitation for a meeting with the NWC by asking for an alternative time.
“We find it odd that they request such a meeting at such a short period of time. We will discuss tonight to find out what to do,” said an insider.
The mood among DA leaders considering the party’s response to Mbalula’s ultimatum was tense, the same source added.
Like the ANC, the DA has been divided as to the way forward after lengthy talks between the parties, and conditions the latter had set for supporting it, failed.
The collapse of negotiations saw the ANC find support from ActionSA, which helped to get the fiscal framework across the line by proposing a clumsy compromise in which parties would back the measure but with a recommendation that the treasury take 30 days to consider alternatives to raising taxes.
The recommendation has no binding force and, with the first of May approaching, there is no time left for parliament to approve a legal amendment that would avert a 0.5 percentage point VAT increase to come into effect on that date.
While the six cabinet ministers in the DA lean towards remaining in the GNU, other senior figures in the party are ready to shut the door out of frustration that it has not been able to help shape economic policy.
For the ANC’s part, it is fed-up with a coalition partner that conducts itself like an opposition force.
ANC members are particularly irate by DA federal council chair Helen Zille’s decision to serve court papers to challenge the process by which the fiscal framework was adopted.
Zille is privately portrayed by ANC leaders as the driving force behind the DA’s oppositional approach, and a proponent of taking the party out of the coalition. She has warned that this would happen if Ramaphosa were to fire the DA ministers from the cabinet, but has given no further indication of the party’s future plans.
It means that, for now, the ANC and the DA have reached a stalemate. A regular cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday has been postponed.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba confirmed that his party had met the ANC on Wednesday.
His party is not in the GNU, and the meeting signals that the ANC is keeping up the pressure and the posture of a party considering its options. It has, significantly, not asked to meet either the Economic Freedom Fighters or the uMkhonto weSizwe party.