ANC set to brief media on collapsed Gauteng Cabinet talks

JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng is expected to present its side of the story over a breakdown in negotiations with the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province.

The party’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, is set to hold a media briefing at its Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, power-sharing talks over the composition of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi collapsed following their failure to find common ground.

The wrangle for MEC positions has seen Lesufi postponing his Cabinet announcement twice in the last two weeks.

While the ANC has kept mum about the number of positions it is willing to let go of, it has emerged the DA was offered three Cabinet portfolios.

The DA also claims that the ANC proposed a Cabinet that was not inclusive of smaller political parties in the government of provincial unity.

However, the ANC in Gauteng said the DA’s demands were unreasonable, insisting the party had been negotiating in bad faith.

Meanwhile, Gauteng is the only province where a Cabinet is yet to be appointed.

READ MORE:

- Zille on Lesufi's cabinet delays: DA 'not prepared to be co-opted by ANC's terms alone'

- DA not desperate to be in Gauteng govt, willing to be the opposition – Zille

- DA ends talks with ANC over Gauteng Cabinet positions after failing to reach deal