DA's Steenhuisen says he's ready to put petty politicking aside in GNU

PRETORIA - While President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged South Africans to get behind the new Government of National Unity (GNU), parties expected to feature prominently in the new executive say they are ready to put shoulder to the wheel. 

During a speech at his inauguration at the Union Buildings on Wednesday, Ramaphosa highlighted that the newly formed government was the will of the people who did not give any party the majority vote in last month’s polls. 

"The formation of a Government of National Unity is a moment of profound significance, it is the beginning of a new era."

ALSO READ:

• Ramaphosa rallies South Africans to back new Government of National Unity

• Political parties express mixed views on Ramaphosa’s key submissions to South Africans

• Ramaphosa's inauguration: Some South Africans say they hope for a better five years than the last

• IN PICS | Speeches, suits and salutes: The 2024 presidential inauguration

President Ramaphosa ushered in a new administration at the Union Buildings on Wednesday, calling on his new political partners to work together to fix South Africa. 

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen, who has often traded barbs with Ramaphosa across the floor of Parliament, said that he was ready to put the petty politicking aside. 

"We all wore different party T-shirts. The T-shirt we now need to wear is the one with the South African flag on the front of it and the party logo on the back of it. I think that's what's called upon from all of us." 

With the presidential inauguration done and dusted, the pressure now mounts on Ramaphosa to name his Cabinet and to give South Africans the assurance that the Government of National Unity is firmly anchored.