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South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has signed a landmark power-sharing deal with the Democratic Alliance, paving the way for a new government to be formed under the leadership of the ANC’s Cyril Ramaphosa.
Such a deal was vital to allowing the ANC, which lost its majority for the first time since the end of white minority rule 30 years ago in the May election, to remain in power with a working majority.
It follows a protracted period of negotiation between the ANC and opposition parties including the liberal DA and the small, Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom party (IFP), which is also party to the deal. The breakthrough came at the eleventh hour on Friday during a break for the first sitting of parliament in Cape Town since the election.
Earlier negotiations had continued until 2am on Friday morning. The last contested points, concerning the arrangements to resolve disagreements within the government, were only ironed out while parliament was in session.
The nine-page document commits the parties to “co-operate through a voluntary government of national unity”. Significantly, Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters and Jacob Zuma’s Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) — both radical parties that promote nationalisation of banks and key industries — are not part of the pact.
The agreement commits the DA to supporting the ANC’s choice of Ramaphosa for president and the ANC’s Thoko Didiza as speaker of parliament. In return, the DA’s candidate will be the deputy speaker.
But the power-sharing deal also paves the way for the DA and other parties to be given cabinet positions and “leadership positions” in some parliamentary committees, of which the IFP will become the “chair of chairs”.
Signed by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and DA chair Helen Zille, the document lays out the mechanics of coalition rule, from how cabinet will be constituted to guidelines for policymaking and dispute resolution.
Zille told the Financial Times that this was a significant development for the country. “This gives South Africa a chance of creating a stable democracy and an inclusive economy,” she said.
The document stipulates that while the president retains the power to appoint his cabinet, this should be done “in consultation with the leaders of the respective parties”.
In the case of disagreements, the deal says that a “principle of sufficient consensus shall apply”, which is defined as the support of parties holding at least 60 per cent of parliamentary seats.
The coalition agreement includes nine high-level priorities for fixing South Africa’s ailing economy, which has struggled to exceed a 1 per cent annual growth rate over the past decade. These range from “rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth” to “stabilising local government”.
Velenkosini Hlabisa, the leader of the IFP, told the FT that his party “remains part of the agreement” but the “issue of cabinet positions” will only be discussed at a later date.
John Steenhuisen, leader of the DA, told reporters the deal was a “historical” moment for the country, which will allow his party to now “co-govern”.
Steenhuisen added that the formation of the new government will happen in stages. While Friday’s signing of this statement of intent allowed for the president and speaker of parliament to be elected, the cabinet will only be appointed later by the president.
He said the EFF and MK party “do not share the constitutional principles” that would ensure the country progressed. He said that if the ANC had chosen to go into a partnership with those two, the DA would not have joined the government.
Investors said they preferred a deal between the ANC and the pro-market DA, believing it would ensure stable policy and potentially accelerate economic growth. The rand, which had weakened to touch R19 to the dollar in recent days amid fears of a coalition between the ANC and leftist EFF, strengthened after news of a deal with the DA to around R18.33.
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