Cast the GNU net wide, beyond politicians
The government of national unity (GNU) model, which tries to bring together a diversity of ideologies, ideas and minority groups represented by a wide range of parties, is a more inclusive approach than a conventional coalition government.
The latter is put together when no single party wins an outright majority — mostly in normal times. The idea is for the biggest party to add enough seats from other parties to achieve a 50%+1 majority and form a government.
However, GNUs usually include more parties than would be required to simply form a governing majority. The focus of a GNU is to try to get the widest possible representation of political parties into a government. They are established when societies face deeply rooted crises, and no single party or group can deal with them by itself.
South Africa is facing multiple crises —a stagnant economy, lawlessness and tribalism. The ANC has not received a governing majority, although it is still the largest party. Opposition parties could theoretically, if they had the necessary mature leadership, establish their own GNU, pushing the ANC to the opposition benches.
The key to the success of a GNU is how it is structured. The number of parties incorporated is important; while every attempt must be made to be inclusive, inviting in too many parties could result in gridlock. It would be better to include a smaller number of parties in the core GNU and involve other parties in case-by-case co-governing arrangements, for example heading legislative committees or chairing official inquiries.
Crucial issues are how executive and legislative positions will be distributed, which policies take priority and the establishment of a conflictresolution mechanism to deal with disagreements before they escalate.
Opposition parties joining the GNU must be able to demonstrate their effectiveness. South Africa’s cabinet is organised into clusters — finance, security, infrastructure and so on. In a conventional coalition, parties are rewarded with cabinet portfolios in exchange for their participation. Opposition parties in a GNU should be allocated a cluster of portfolios, rather than individual ministries. In this way, they can better demonstrate their ability to deliver.
Leadership of many parliamentary portfolio committees — particularly the public accounts committee — and the post of Speaker of the National Assembly must be distributed among opposition parties.
Given their wide ideological differences, it is unlikely that South Africa’s major parties will find much common ground, but there has to be agreement on certain core policies. For starters, the constitution, the rule of law, social justice and racial inclusivity must be the pillars of cooperation.
Members of a GNU will have to agree on the national budget. Some major legislation such as the NHI Act, which could derail the economy, should be revisited almost as the first call of business.
Polices such as the ANC’s cadre deployment strategy, which has been responsible for the collapse of many state-owned entities, deserve to be scrapped.
The GNU will have to draft a code of conduct and rules of engagement for its members. Contravention of these must result in expulsion from the governing collective. The parties will have to set up an independent conflict resolution mechanism to tackle the inevitable differences that will arise between them.
Furthermore, the GNU must create a structure for senior party leaders to meet regularly to discuss issues related to governance; this can prevent minor disagreements from ballooning into major ructions.
Finally, the GNU should not be limited to political parties, but should include talent and capacity available in other spheres; given South Africa’s multiple crises, bringing in the ideas and experience of players in the private sector and civil society is crucial to the success of a GNU.