South Africa’s African National Congress will hold discussions over the next two weeks on expanding its 10-party coalition government following budget disputes that have strained relations with its largest partner, the Democratic Alliance, party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said Tuesday.
The ANC’s highest decision-making body between conferences recently approved exploring expansion of the Government of National Unity formed after the May 2024 elections. The party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994, winning 40 percent of votes.
“We will engage about the GNU in the two, three weeks, resetting the button,” Mbalula told reporters in Johannesburg. “We’ve got to visit the statement of intent and a whole lot of other issues.”
The announcement follows parliament’s failure to reach consensus on the 2025 budget, forcing the ANC to seek support from opposition parties. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana proposed a 0.5 percentage point VAT increase that the DA opposed.
DA leader John Steenhuisen warned expansion could complicate governance. “I don’t believe that expanding the GNU is going to assist the GNU in going forward,” he said in broadcast remarks.
The coalition controls over 70 percent of parliamentary seats through agreements between the ANC, DA, Inkatha Freedom Party and seven smaller parties. Clause 24 of the GNU’s founding agreement requires existing members to approve new entrants.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said the ANC approached his party after elections but he declined. “You’ve got 70 percent of parliament. What do you want us for? To neutralize us?” Mashaba said he told ANC representatives.
Build One South Africa said it would only consider joining under specific conditions, including commitments to constitutionalism and measurable economic plans.
The GNU has faced multiple challenges since formation, including disagreements over education legislation and foreign policy positions. Deputy President Paul Mashatile said parties must support the budget to remain in government.
“The GNU was a tactical move,” Mbalula said at a separate briefing in August, acknowledging the ANC does not ideologically align with its partners.
The expansion discussions will include parties currently outside the coalition. Mbalula said the ANC would engage “with those who are not part of the GNU” while considering concerns of existing partners.
Any expansion requires balancing South Africa’s complex political landscape where parties span from the center-right DA to leftist formations like the Economic Freedom Fighters, which has predicted the coalition will not survive.
The ANC plans to conclude discussions before parliament reconvenes to vote on appropriation bills that allocate departmental funding.