WATCH | Ramaphosa, Steenhuisen settle differences, no fallout – Presidency

GNU

Cape Town — The Presidency has confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen on Wednesday night.

The meeting followed Steenhuisen’s public disappointment over the lack of consultation with GNU partners before Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law.

Steenhuisen had requested the meeting to address tensions and work towards strengthening the relationship between the DA and the ANC, aiming to rebuild trust among all Government of National Unity (GNU) partners.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen met privately to address their differences. He also assured that the GNU is not at risk of collapsing.

“Party political issues that are in dispute, particularly within the GNU context, have a dispute resolution mechanism called the ‘GNU clearing house’ where the issues are ventilated and discussed,” Magwenya said.

“You are not going to have cabinet lekgotla discussing the unity of the GNU, which has never been in doubt notwithstanding the recent flare-up, the GNU remains very much strong and united and naturally you will have these flare-ups when you consider the history of these parties and the different ideological positions, it is only natural that you get these flare-ups,” he added.

Magwenya said there were open lines within the GNU and Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen met to clear the air following the flare-up.

“The president today (Wednesday) had lunch with Minister Steenhuisen, just the two of them. Two of them, no officials. None of us were there, it was just the two of them.

“The meeting took place, and by the president’s account to me, which I am sure Minister Steenhuisen will share, the meeting went very well. There was an understanding around how issues of consent need to be addressed, the usage of the GNU clearing house, so there was no blood on the floor, so to speak,” he said.

“I think we need to be realistic and accept that there will be issues of disagreement but at no point in time, even if one party threatens to walk away, should we take it that the GNU is about to collapse, no. It is not going to collapse.”

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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