Disagreements continue to delay the constitution of the Gauteng government as the ANC and DA in Gauteng continue to squabble over the allocation of positions in the legislature. The DA wants six out the 13 positions.
The same thing is playing out at the national level as the issue is based on positions. This is as talks in the Government of National Unity (GNU) are still under way.
The ANC failed to win the elections last month but got majority support. In Gauteng, the party got 34% (28 seats) and DA got 27% (22 seats).
In an interview with radio 702 on The Clement Manyathela Show, DA provincial leader Solly Msimanga said the ANC did not win the elections so they expect cabinet to be shared through proportional representation.
There are 13 positions in the cabinet, including the Premier, Speaker, deputy speaker and 10 MECs across the board.
According to Msimanga, the ANC must get seven positions and they should get six because they have the majority between them.
The premier and speaker positions have already gone to the ANC, and deputy speaker to the DA.
He believes that his party should get five MEC positions now that they are left with 10 posts.
However, speaking in the same interview, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that they were not about positions, but rather a functional government.
“I am obsessed about a government that is stable, and that is not going to fall in the trap of coalitions like the local governments,” he said.
He said this should be a government of provincial unity not a government of seats because others will use their seats to bulldoze decisions.
This is after Lesufi, at the last minute, called off a briefing on Sunday to announce the cabinet. According to the premier, this was because negotiators requested more time to iron out matters.
But Lesufi has given GNU negotiators until Wednesday to finalise their discussions.
"We are impatient to ensure we conclude this work as early as possible. We can’t have a government not functioning beyond Wednesday. I really believe that we should find something before Wednesday and conclude this matter,” he said.
He said everyone was welcomed in the room regardless of their seats.
“We’re not obsessed with seats, we will give them, we have accepted that we have lost elections,” Lesufi said, adding that they were still the leaders of society.
Meanwhile, in instances where parties with one seat should be accommodated in the GNU, Msimanga said both them and ANC must sacrifice their positions.
He further questioned Lesufi’s rush to announce the cabinet because things were not still ironed out.
IOL Politics