By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his backers in the ANC are risking everything by calling for the inclusion of the DA in a future government.
This has the potential to force Cosatu, the SACP and a chunk of ANC members to break away from the party and the ruling tripartite alliance.
Or these groups could vote to recall Ramaphosa from his position as president.
In the minds of many ANC members, the idea that Cyril Ramaphosa is even thinking of co-governing with the DA should be enough to bury him.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the meeting of the ANC national working committee on Tuesday opted for the Government of National Unity (GNU) as the best coalition strategy.
She said the party has had initial talks with the DA, IFP, PA, and EFF. Another delegation has been sent to negotiate with former President Jacob Zuma’s MK party.
Next step is the meeting of the ANC’s 87-member national executive committee on Thursday which will consider the report of the NWC.
It is at this meeting that Ramaphosa and his backers will sell the idea of including the DA in the GNU.
Worse, the person selling the idea has, for years, been tagged as a proxy of the so-called “Stellenbosch Mafia” inside the ANC.
Business poured millions of rands into his CR17 Fund which ultimately “bought” him the ANC conference and the presidency.
When Ramaphosa ran to court to seal the records of the CR17 Fund, many believed he had something to hide.
Long before this recent upset at the ballot, some in the ANC broad church suspected Ramaphosa was too close to the business sector and too close to the DA.
Rumours of a future coalition with the DA have been around for over a year now and have just been confirmed.
Conversations with some members of the NEC suggest this would be the final nail in Ramaphosa’s coffin.
They say the DA is fundamentally opposed to every policy that seeks to improve the lives of the black majority.
It campaigns against affirmative action, black economic empowerment, and recently universal access to high quality healthcare for the poor.
EFF leader Julius Malema took a jab at this ANC and DA coalition idea when he said: “If ANC goes into coalition with oppressors the DA, you would have officially declared yourselves house negroes.”
And now that Jacob Zuma has created a viable option for anyone who is unhappy with the “ANC of Ramaphosa”, hobnobbing with the DA could have dire consequences for Ramaphosa and the ANC.
Zuma was in stitches this week, saying the very idea of an ANC and DA coalition was disturbing.
“Right now as we speak, I heard that they are fighting seriously. What I heard is really scary. I hear their leader wants to go to the DA. Where have you heard of something like that?
“Where you liberate yourself from people and then return your hard earned freedom back to the oppressors?
“Some are saying ‘hey we are not going there’.”
Those opposed to the DA coalition say it would be impossible to sell to the voters in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga who have remained loyal to the ANC despite its numerous challenges.
Pictured Above: ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Image Source: X.
