South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to be sworn in for a second term on Wednesday, ushering in a government unlike any the country has seen since the end of apartheid in 1994.
President Ramaphosa’s party, the African National Congress (ANC), failed to win a majority in last month’s general election, winning just 40 percent of the vote, meaning he will have to govern in coalition with rival parties for the first time.
President Ramaphosa has touted a new era of unity and cooperation, but not everyone is on board.
The coalition also includes the second-largest party, the Democratic Alliance, which won 22 percent of the vote and has long been the ANC’s fiercest critic. The other three parties in the coalition — the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Patriotic Alliance and Good — each won less than 4 percent of the vote.
A statement of principles signed by the five coalition parties for what they call a “national unity government” includes each party’s policy priorities, but the document contains few concrete details.
How will they jump-start the sagging economy? Will they continue with the affirmative action policies enthusiastically supported by the ANC but vehemently opposed by the Democratic Alliance? What about the contentious issue of racial disparities in land ownership?
Four challenges facing South Africa’s new government are:
A shaky start could threaten the future.
There are already signs of tension and there could be problems in the relationship going forward.
Ryan Coetzee, a former Democratic Alliance strategist involved in coalition negotiations, said: I wrote in a column South African news site News24 reported that the ANC appeared to be resisting the idea of sharing power with the Democratic Alliance until the end of the negotiations.
“There is no doubt that the aim is to neutralise the DA,” Coetzee wrote of the ANC. “This would be a mistake, as it would turn the government into a permanent battlefield and threaten its existence from the start.”
President Ramaphosa must quickly form a cabinet, taking into account ministerial posts from other parties, and then begin the difficult task of setting aside personal and ideological grievances.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an easy marriage,” said Thela Nsetane Bika, a lecturer in international law and public policy at the School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
The economic situation is very bad and it will be difficult to find a solution.
South Africans’ dissatisfaction with their government is rooted in a stagnant economy marked by high unemployment, widening inequality and deep poverty.
Trudy Makhaya, a former economic adviser to President Ramaphosa, said the coalition’s approach to the economy may be similar to that of the previous ANC-led government, which adopted a largely centrist approach. “The narrative and the rhetoric will change, but I think the substance will remain the same,” she said.
For example, President Ramaphosa already supports greater private sector involvement in job creation and boosting the economy, but given the Democratic Alliance’s free-market stance, the new government’s messaging is likely to emphasize that even more, Makhaya said.
The Democratic Alliance is calling for the continuation of Operation Vulindlela, an initiative launched under President Ramaphosa aimed at strengthening critical infrastructure through some privatisation. Makhaya said the Democratic Alliance could also encourage the government to accelerate efforts to reduce regulations in order to bring more investment into the country.
The partners have vastly different views on race.
The issue expected to cause the most friction between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance is how to tackle persistent racial divides.
Many members of the ANC strongly opposed the coalition, arguing that the Democratic Alliance denied the very existence of racism and wanted to maintain the status quo in a white-dominated economy, a view that was rejected by senior Democratic Alliance members.
“We believe that change means greater efficiency, improved infrastructure and getting the country functioning again,” Helen Zill, chair of the Democratic Alliance’s federal council, said, explaining her party’s efforts to support historically disadvantaged racial groups.
During the election campaign, the Democratic Alliance proposed repealing the Black Economic Empowerment Act, one of the ANC’s signature initiatives to encourage black business ownership and leadership. Because the act is so important to the ANC and its base, Makhaya said he expects the Democratic Alliance to push for reforms that would keep the act in place but make it more palatable to its supporters.
One of the most widespread and contentious aspects of racial inequality is the fact that most of the country’s land remains in white ownership. Left-wing politicians, including many in the ANC, want the government to take land from white owners without compensation, a stance that runs counter to the Democratic Alliance’s economic ideals.
The ANC has a largely centrist land policy and is unlikely to propose anything drastic, but Makhaya says the party could more effectively implement measures already in place to advance land reform, such as giving unused state land to the private sector.
Each faction in the coalition government has a different approach to foreign policy.
The ANC has actively pursued a foreign policy that is contrary to some Western interests, most notably by accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza in international courts and refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Democratic Alliance tends to lean toward South Africa’s Western allies, such as the United States and the European Union, which have the country’s largest trading ties.
“You’re going to see a lot of conflict and not a lot of common ground” when it comes to foreign policy, said Lebogang Legodi, a senior lecturer in political science and international relations at South Africa’s University of Limpopo.
Still, President Ramaphosa maintains good relations with Western countries and allies such as China and Russia. The main tension with the Democratic Alliance could come over debates over South Africa’s role in international organisations such as BRICS, a multinational alliance that competes with Western countries and recently welcomed Iran as a new member.
