ANC dribbles past DA with new GNU rules

New procedures to solve disagreements

- By Queenin Masuabi

The government of national unity (GNU) is expected to adopt a set of rules for its clearing house, introducing general consensus as the guiding principle for decision-making and dispute resolution among participating political parties.

This marks a move away from the idea of sufficient consensus, which was previously stated as the core principle to break deadlocks in the initial GNU statement of intent.

This was often used by the DA to challenge decisions made by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

According to the statement of intent, which was signed by political parties just moments before Ramaphosa was voted in as the president in the National Assembly in 2024, sufficient consensus is possible when parties to the GNU representing 60% of seats in the National Assembly agree.

This would mean that such an instance would only occur if the DA and ANC agree.