By Simon Nare
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has accused the DA of trying to use its position in the Government of National Unity to reverse some transformative policies that were passed in the 6th administration.
Addressing the media on the outcome of the party’s national executive committee lekgotla at Luthuli House on Tuesday, Mbalula said the ANC was not going to apologise for the transformative laws, which he said were not a danger to anyone.
The two parties have been engaged in public spats over various policies, further fueling speculation the GNU is on the brink of collapse.
Mbalula said the DA was not genuine in its pursuit to challenge the Expropriation Bill which President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law, saying when the DA entered into the talks to form a GNU, it already new about the Bill as it had been passed in the National Assembly.
He added that now that the DA was part of the GNU it believed it could stop the new law from being implemented. He refuted DA claims that it could use clause 19 of the Letter of Intent that was signed by all the parties represented in the GNU to challenge the new law.
He said the clause did not affect laws that were passed by the 6th administration.
“If in the negotiations and discussions and it was clear to us that bills that have been passed by the 6th administration must be negotiated afresh, we wouldn’t have agreed. And there no such an agreement.
“We can’t allow Parliament to halt progress. We can’t. And if that then constituted a deal-breaker, it should have happened then. You don’t operate like a street fighter and say I will get them that side. It doesn’t work like that. You play your cards open.
“(You can’t operate like) we are in we will find a way. No. That’s why you have got to be honest with people you negotiate with,” he said.
Mbalula said the DA was not fundamentally against the new law, but it was failing to raise what it raised in Parliamentary debates that expropriation must be compensated.
He said there was a lot of confusion around the Act and people would need to be educated about the implications of the new law.
Mbalula said DA ministers who joined the 7th administrations fully aware that there were bills that have been passed and were just waiting for the president’s signature.
He argued that the new Act introduced the possibility of no compensation when some land was expropriated, and this was what the DA was fighting against.
Mbalula pointed out that according to the new law, this would apply to specific instances such as abandoned land or land acquired for speculative purposes.
“You know, you got people here who own buildings and own land and they don’t stay in this country and nobody knows where they are. We are going to expropriate in terms of this Act. We are not going to wait. Waiting for something we don’t know,” he vowed.
He added that the process would be guided by the courts so it would not be a land grab.
On the outcomes of lekgotla, Mbalula revealed several resolutions which were adopted. The resolutions were designed to address the most pressing issues of the day.
He said the party was determined to ensure that it was responsive, people-centered and in touch with the realities of South Africans on the ground.
On the transport reform, Mbalula said the lekgotla recognised that an efficient and well-integrated logistics system was crucial for economic growth, reducing transportation costs for businesses and improving competitiveness in both local and global markets.
“The Lekgotla emphasised the need for government to work with private sector partners to address key bottlenecks in South Africa’s transport and logistics networks, ensuring that goods are moved efficiently, reliably, and at a reduced cost,” he said.
INSIDE POLITICS
