Helen Zille's GNU/coalition comments irritate, says Fikile Mbalula

The ANC has dismissed DA federal council chair Helen Zille's comments on the government of national unity as an “irritation” that must be ignored. 

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula was reacting to the senior DA leader's comments that the new government set-up was actually a coalition between her party and the ANC, and not a GNU. 

Mbalula on Thursday said if the ANC were to allow distractions aimed at derailing the party from Zille and her ilk, the party would cease to exist.

“Stop being irritated by Zille every time she says she wants to see the ANC dead. It wouldn't have stopped even if there was no GNU, the DA and others are not going to stop.

“The DA, like others who want to see the ANC gone, say they eat the elephant piece by piece, but the elephant is still standing and the ANC will go down if it entertains the irritation and doesn't do what is right,” he said.

What is important, according to the secretary-general, is for the government to speak in one voice regarding government programmes, for ministers to adhere to protocols and not just pronounce policy and speak out of turn without processing matters.

“The GNU is not a melting pot of political parties ceasing to be who they are and what they represent, and the contradictions will be there, as they would have been even within the broader situation of a government led by the ANC.

“The opposition will try to get to us in whatever way they can but we know that we hold sway ... as the largest party in the country. There's nothing that can happen without us in this government of national unity,” said Mbalula. 

While the GNU within the executive has appeared to be smooth sailing, the first test of a multiparty government contradiction came in the form of a statement condemning Israel’s participation in the Olympic Games released by the sport, arts and culture department in the absence of minister Gayton McKenzie.

McKenzie, leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), is a vocal supporter of Israel. He wrote on social media that he would express his displeasure about the statement later as he does not want to create political fallout that will take attention away from South Africa’s athletes.

But Mbalula came out in defence of McKenzie’s deputy, Peace Mabe. He said the statement on Israel was in line with the government's position.

“We know that Gayton has a position in terms of the PA — he supports Israelites. But the fundamental question is, what is government policy? It is that we are with the Palestinian people, and we recognise the Israeli state as an apartheid state, and we want this to stop,” Mbalula said.

He reiterated that the GNU concept was introduced by President Cyril Ramaphosa after the ANC lost its majority in the May 29 national and provincial elections.

Here's Helen Zille's full discussion with The Friedrich Naumann Foundation:

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