Coalition governments - 'a year of unfulfilled promises'

File: President Cyril Ramaphosa with leaders of political parties that are signatories to the Government of National Unity (GNU) at Genadendal, the President's official residence in Cape Town on November 11, 2024. This month marks one year since the GNU was formed.
Image: GCIS
The coalition of political parties leading the country has failed to improve the living conditions of South Africans.
This was the assessment of opposition parties outside the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) that leads KwaZulu-Natal as the one-year anniversary of the coalition governments was marked this week.
The two structures were formed last year after the African National Congress (ANC) failed to win the majority of the vote in the national government elections. The GNU is made up of close to 10 parties, while the GPU in KZN consists of the ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Democratic Alliance (DA), and the National Freedom Party (NFP).
ActionSA was scathing in its criticism of the GNU, saying that it has been an expensive exercise for the country without any returns.
Athol Trollip, ActionSA Parliamentary Leader, said the metrics have been poor since the GNU took over. He noted that the formation of the GNU saw the cabinet expand from 30 to 32 ministers and from 36 to 43 deputy ministers. Salaries, staff, and related perks for newly appointed ministers and deputy ministers alone have increased the cabinet's budget by almost R250 million each year, an outrageous financial burden placed on already overburdened taxpayers.
'Under the GNU, the expanded unemployment rate increased from 42.6% to 43.1%. According to the latest employment figures, nearly 300 000 people lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2025 alone. The painful truth is that in the GNU's first year, annual growth did not exceed the 1% ceiling, which is less than population growth. Even for the current financial year, National Treasury projects an overly optimistic, but still inadequate, growth rate of 1.4%. As long as growth remains this low, the heartbreak of joblessness is likely to persist.
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'While isolated pockets of improvement may be cited in certain areas, they have yielded little to no tangible impact on the prevailing socio-economic conditions in South Africa. The data continues to tell a sobering story that over the past 12 months, this government has paraded itself as a project of renewal, while the facts point to an administration that has mastered the art of governance through a thin veil of public relations,' Trollip said.
Speaking on the GNU, Makashule Gana of Rise Mzansi said, 'It has been a huge learning experience about one another and the necessary compromises needed to make the government work. A year in, it is clear that we need structures that get the wheels going. I am confident that the second year of the GNU will work better.'
Assessing the GPU in KZN, EFF leader in the province, Mongezi Twala, said, 'The GPU appears to be collapsing in the province. We have never seen a situation where there is disruption in teaching and learning because the Department of Education has failed to pay money for norms and standards. We have never seen a situation where some hospitals are not functioning because supplies have not been paid. Add to that, the allegations of gender-based violence in the Premier's office that have forced the Director-General to resign. This is not a government of the people; it's a government that cares less about the people,' said Twala.
Political analyst Syabonga Ntombela stated that the GNU has managed to stabilise the economy of South Africa, which could have been worse than it is currently.
He added that the GNU had managed to curtail some of the government proposals, including the VAT increase that would have ordinarily passed if the ANC was still enjoying an outright majority.
'The GNU has shielded the ANC from the onslaught that began last year during the general elections in May. The evidence of this is demonstrated by the ANC's performance in the by-elections. So, the ANC will not suffer worse than most people think or wish because of the GNU's performance in some strategic areas of society and the economy,' he said.

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