GNU can’t be about point-scoring, says ANC's Mbalula

JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Fikile Mbalula had some choice words for his party’s coalition partner, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which he accused of being disingenuous on the current impasse over the budget and in desperate need of a “new lecture on patriotism”.

He was referring to the DA’s opposing stance to South Africa’s handling of its continued icy relations with the United States (US).

“They know they are asking for the impossible,” said Mbalula in response to the DA’s demands to support the proposed budget.

Mbalula was speaking during an interview with journalist Tshidi Madia as the first guest of a new season of Politricking with Tshidi Madia, an Eyewitness News (EWN) politics podcast.

This interview also marked his first with EWN since becoming the ANC secretary general, often described as the engine or Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the former liberation movement.

Mbalula reflected on his time in office, managing the Government of National Unity (GNU) contradictions and addressed the precarious state of the once mighty former liberation movement.

“They raised policy issues that they were defeated about in the sixth administration, NHI [National Health Insurance], BELA (Basic Education Laws Amendment) Act, Expropriation Act. They want to bring it [all] into the budget as a precondition. They use VAT [Value-Added Tax], but we say the VAT is mitigated, that essential goods are zero-rated. We are now confused as to where do we stand,” Mbalula said.

This as he insists the issues raised by GNU partner, the DA, in its refusal to back last week’s proposed fiscal framework have little to do with the actual contents of the speech.

“They’ve made over commitment on things that they know sometimes are not possible, that they can’t achieve, and they want to blame it on us, that we want to act as if we are in power when we are not which is not the case. They are disingenuous. They are totally disingenuous,” Mbalula insisted.

In the letter of demand by the DA to the ANC, which EWN has seen, there is no mention of the BELA Act, as the blue party argues that the issues raised, including the devolution of rail, the cessation of ports, doing away with the Labour Relations Act and conducting a budget spending review would all assist with stimulating growth of the country’s economy.

“They've got an agenda. They understand the situation we are in, but they don't say how to get out of this,” said Mbalula who also criticised the DA for failing to put immediate solutions on the table, claiming that its proposals are long-term fixes.

He said there would be no roughshod approach to the ANC, insisting with or without the DA, a budget would be passed and South Africa’s government would meet its financial obligations as set out in the Constitution.

While there are roughly 10 parties in the GNU formation, most clashes have been between the two larger partners, with the DA now insisting on developing its own foreign policy position, which it wants to implement outside of the government formation it is party to.

“Democratic Alliance need a whole new lecture about patriotism, which they don't understand in a particular way they don't, because they must understand that we don't have two passports. We only have one, which is South Africa, and will defend our great nation.”

He disregarded the move, recently announced by DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille, by saying states don’t deal with non-state actors. Mbalula equally questioned the DA’s continued objection to the country’s approach to geopolitics.

“We don't act outside the United Nations and the African Union and SADC [Southern African Development Community]. We don't act on our own, we act with others. We are not a superpower,” said Mbalula.

The ANC's secretary cautioned against inviting external players to have a say in how decisions are made in a sovereign state.

“It will mean… before we name a school in South Africa, we must report to America. We are reduced to a colony in a very short space of time, we're actually being bullied, and that is why we say our state must safeguard our interests, work with America, normalise relations if there's anything that is there, but at the same time, do not lead us to [being] bullied by the United States,” he said.

This is the same attitude he adopted when asked about the potential renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaleed, a Palestinian liberation hero. This is the street that has been home to the United States consulate.

The move, by the city of Johannesburg, has been labelled as antagonistic.

“The renaming of streets and all of that is always in terms of local government. It's subject to the will of the people… So let the people speak about the renaming of the streets, just like Winnie Mandela. There are people who disagreed with that,” said Mbalula.