Steenhuisen says biggest surprises of past year is how well GNU partners stuck together
The leader of the GNU’s second biggest partner said for a ten-party coalition to have survived a year is almost unheard of around the world.
FILE: The DA and ANC entered into an arrangement in the Government of National Unity. Picture: GCIS
CAPE TOWN - Saturday marks one year since the Government of National Unity (GNU) was officially formed with the eleventh-hour signing of a statement of intent between parties on the sidelines of the first sitting of Parliament, where members were being sworn in, and the president was elected.
Leader of the GNU’s second biggest partner – the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s John Steenhuisen – said his biggest surprise of the past year is how well the GNU partners stuck together, despite the bumps in the road.
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This week, the GNU faced the ultimate test - agreeing to a national budget framework after two false starts.
Steenhuisen said for a ten-party coalition to have survived a year is almost unheard of around the world.
While by and large Steenhuisen believes the parties are sticking to their guiding coalition blueprint, he said it’s a shortcoming that its dispute resolution mechanism – the clearing house – still has no terms of reference.
“That must be done because there are some things coming down the track where there are potential areas of disagreement. The mining bill, for instance, is one of them. I think we need to have a way of being able to deal with those disputes, rather than having them blow up in the open.”
Steenhuisen said the budget debacle has been a learning experience for all parties, and after a dinner of party leaders in Pretoria to reflect, moving forward, contestation will be handled differently.
“I think there was acceptance in all parts that we could have done things differently, including the DA and I think it's been a very good learning curve about how we deal with conflict going forward, and what the do's and don'ts are and being able to find each other in a more responsible, mature way than just simply seeing a big blowout.”
Steenhuisen said the party doesn’t regret taking the finance minister to court to remove a value-added tax (VAT) increase from the national budget.