Cyril pleads with GNU as leadership doubts grow

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa, held a secretive two-day retreat at the Cradle of Humankind, where he urged leaders of the Government of National Unity (GNU) to collaborate in order to rescue the country's struggling municipalities.

- MASHUDU SADIKE

The gathering, which concluded on Saturday, was convened amidst speculation about the GNU's future and about Ramaphosa's own leadership, with several ANC insiders expressing a growing lack of confidence in his ability to steer the nation.

Sources close to the discussions from within government, the ANC and opposition parties, revealed that a significant portion of the closed-door discussions revolved around the critical state of local governance and next year's elections.

While no official agenda was shared, and leaders were ordered to maintain secrecy, the urgency of municipal collapse appears to have dominated much of the conversation.

"The President was very clear," one ANC source said.

"He essentially begged the GNU partners to set aside their differences and focus on the ground-level issues. He said: 'Our people are suffering because municipalities are failing. We must make them work, and we must do it together."