JOHANNESBURG: South African parties are nearing agreement on which cabinet they will form, local media reported on Sunday, the latest hurdle to forming a government after the ruling party lost its majority in elections for the first time in decades.
The Sunday Times and City Press both reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) is in broad agreement with the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), rejecting the latter’s bid to take over the trade and industry portfolio.
“We are very hopeful that an agreement can be reached before the end of the week,” senior DA politician Helen Zille was quoted by the Sunday Times as saying.
Both newspapers expect Ramaphosa to announce his cabinet on Sunday. Spokesmen for both parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The former liberation movement, which ended apartheid 30 years ago, was forced to join the DA and other parties in a national unity government after receiving less than half the vote for the first time in the May 29 election.
Voters angered by the ANC’s poor record in delivering basic services such as water, schools and electricity, as well as unemployment, poverty and corruption, eliminated Nelson Mandela’s legacy party with just 40% of the vote.
Analysts say that even if there is an agreement in the cabinet, ideological differences between the ANC and the DA can lead to politics.
The DA wants to end some of the ANC’s black empowerment programs, which have greatly enriched the politically connected business elite, while many blacks remain poor.
As a legacy of the conquest of the ANC by the colonizers and the rule of the entrenched white minority thereafter, it opposes the desire to take land owned by whites and hand it over to black farmers without compensation.
The DA is also trying to maintain South Africa’s minimum wage, which currently sits at 27.58 rand ($1.52) an hour, making the workforce uncompetitive.
