By Enyichukwu Enemanna
President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has accused Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen of attempting to create a “parallel government” in breach of the constitution, just weeks after the governing African National Congress (ANC) agreed to share power with the opposition.
He is said to have made the allegation in leaked letter to Mr. Steenhuisen on 25 June.
When the ANC failed to win an outright majority in last month’s election, the main opposition DA agreed to form a government of national unity that would keep President Ramaphosa in power.
The DA politicians also got cabinet positions in exchange for the political deal.
The ANC subsequently also reached a coalition deal with eight smaller parties, with Mr Ramaphosa under pressure to accommodate at least some of them in his cabinet as well.
According to local media reports, the South African leader wrote his angry letter after giving the DA a final offer of six cabinet posts.
The DA then demanded two more posts, which angered the ANC’s top brass, local media report says.
Ramaphosa in his letter accused the DA leader of “moving the goalposts” during the negotiation process.
He also criticized the DA’s powerful federal chairperson, Helen Zille, for demands that he described as “offensive, condescending and inconsistent with the constitution”.
Ramaphosa had reneged on his promise to give the DA the Trade and Industry Ministry, a key post to boost South Africa’s struggling economy, report says.
The DA leaders told Mr Ramaphosa the “deal is off” unless he sticks to the earlier agreement that the two parties made.
The ANC had lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since it took power at the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994. It got 40% of the vote, while the DA got 22%.
