John Steenhuisen Says the DA Is Committed to the GNU, SA Disagrees

• The Democratic Alliance (DA) president, John Steenhuisen, said the party is still willing to be committed to the Government of National Unity
• He spoke in Phoenix in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, during a party campaign ahead of a municipal by-election
• He also alleged that the South African markets lost R1 trillion after the news that the DA may exit the Government of National Unity
• Public leadership analyst Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu talked to Briefly News about the GNU

Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international relations, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his nine years of experience.

PHOENIX, ETHEKWINI — The leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen said in Phoenix, eThekwini on 5 April 2025 that the party is still committed to the Government of National Unity (GNU). His assertions came in light of the party's future in the coalition government following its rejection of the budget vote.

DA's John Steenhuisen on the GNU

Steenhuisen spoke in Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal. The party is in the city to campaign ahead of the municipal by-elections in the municipality. He said the party does not want to dominate the GNU because it does not have a 51% majority. He pointed out that those in the coalition government must be willing to work together.

Steenhuisen said it is unsustainable to be part of a government that excludes other parties from key policy decisions. He reminded South Africans that the GNU was not a continuation of the previous administration.

Public leadership expert on the GNU

Public leadership analyst Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu spoke to Briefly News about the Government of National Unity.

"One cannot rule out that the Economic Freedom Fighters and other small parties could join the GNU as part of the progressive/black bloc. The current wave of changes happening in Africa may play a crucial role in who could be the ANC's next GNU partners," he said.

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Markets lose R1 trillion: Steenhuisen

Steenhuisen added that the markets lost R1 trillion after the possibility that the party might leave the GNU loomed over the horizon. According to BusinessTech, businesses wrote to the DA and the African National Congress (ANC) to ask them to keep the GNU intact. The leaders include Discovery CEO Adrian Gore and Anglo-American CEO Duncan Wanblad. The leaders said the country has much to lose if the GNU collapses.

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Is the DA leaving the GNU?

• The Democratic Alliance was among the political parties that voted against the implementation of the budget before the National Assembly passed it on 2 April
• The president, Cyril Ramaphosa, slammed the DA and said it must choose whether it opposes or supports the Government of National Unity
• The party's secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, also slammed the Democratic Alliance; he accused it of looking after its interests
• The party has opposed the Value-Added Tax increase Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana proposed when he was supposed to deliver the first GNU budget speech in February

South Africans don't believe him

Netizens commenting on @SABCNews' X tweet were not convinced that the party was committed to the GNU.

Mayibongwe said:

"Helen Zille has made it clear that they don't want to co-opt, but they want equal power sharing."

Xman said:

"They misled themselves by thinking that they have unknown powers in the GNU, and now they are angry because it's becoming crystal clear that they have none."

SechabaYouth said:

"Translation: we love our blue lights and we won't leave them."

Njabulo Sibiya said:

"Blue lights and fancy government positions have successfully pacified the DA."

Helen Zille says DA in GNU for economic growth

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that the DA's Federal Chair, Helen Zille, said the party is not in the GNU because of perks. She said it is in the coalition government for economic growth and fighting unemployment.

Zille's statements came after the party filed papers with the Western Cape High Court to challenge the budget vote. The National Assembly passed the budget, and the DA was among the parties that voted against it.

Source: Briefly News