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15-06-2024
PRETORIA: A coalition deal has been confirmed that will see Cyril Ramaphosa re-elected as president.
The leader of the second largest party, which is part of the deal, calls this a ‘new chapter’ for the country.
The new MPs have been sworn in after the 29 May election.
That was when the African National Congress lost its majority for the first time in 30 years.
The outcome forced the party into coalition talks.
The MPs are expected to elect the president after the election of the speaker and deputy speaker of parliament.
The party that came third in the poll ex-President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe has challenged the outcome of the election and said its MPs would not turn up.
The new MPs have had a break for lunch and are now being asked to vote in a secret ballot for the speaker.
There are two candidates one from the ANC and one from the EFF and polling booths have been set up in the National Assembly chamber.
The MPs are being called up in alphabetical order and will fill out the ballot paper.
DA leader John Steenhuisen attracted a big huddle of journalists as he came into the parliamentary precinct after finishing his speech.
He told reporters that no deal on cabinet positions had been agreed and those will begin soon.
“We recognize there is a need for democratic inclusivity and the president will bear this in mind when he appoints his cabinet,” Steenhuisen said.
“We will be supporting President Ramaphosa’s election today,” he confirmed.
“In turn, the ANC will support our candidate for deputy speaker.”
Just a reminder that we got to this point following the ANC’s dismal performance in the 29 May general election, where it got 40% of the vote – the first time the party had not won an absolute majority.
This then forced it into coalition talks.
The ANC has aimed to form what it called a government of national unity. In that light it has brought in the former main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, and the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party but two large parties remain outside the deal uMkhonto weSizwe of ex-President Jacob Zuma and the Economic Freedom Fighters, which came third and fourth respectively.
In a “statement of intent”, here are some of the issues the new government said it will focus on; Economic growth, Job creation, Improving access to and the quality of basic services, Tackling the high cost of living, Providing affordable, quality healthcare, Creating a corruption-free public service, Strengthening law enforcement to address issues like crime and gender-based violence, Providing a social safety net.
Steenhuisen wraps up his speech by saying South Africa “is now ready to write a new chapter that defies the odds once again”.
“From the spring of our great diversity, flows a river of humanity that can quench the thirst that we all share for freedom, for prosperity and for a country we can all be proud of,” the opposition leader says.
Although Steenhuisen has noted how significant the deal is, he also says South Africa’s problems, such as crime and economic issues, will not be “solved overnight” and that the “road ahead will be difficult”.
“The people have also told us that a time for a new politics of collaboration and problem solving has arrived,” Steenhusien says. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
