Since the formation of the government of national unity (GNU), some have wondered whether the GNU will last through to the next national election in 2029. Well, the fact is nobody knows whether the GNU will last to the next presidential elections. Because nobody can predict the future, especially the future of politics.
What we can be certain of at this point though, three months after May 29 elections, is that there are many tests ahead for this GNU. In fact, the tests have already begun.
That the tests have already begun is not surprising to people like us who follow the political affairs of South Africa closely.
We had anticipated that the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) governing together would prove to be an immense challenge, as these parties are not in the same ideological spectrum.
The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law this past week is one of the policy areas where we see fundamental disagreements between the ANC and the DA.
The disturbing thing about BELA, is that it’s a law that will take away powers of school governing bodies. The powers on things like school language policy and admissions. Provincial departments will have the final say in such matters.
This is maddening. How do government bureaucrats know what is best for communities across South Africa? Why decide what is best for schools when the parents and school governing bodies know what is best, and are capable to make decisions themselves? Parents have greater information, knowledge about educational needs in their communities.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube did not attend the BELA signing ceremony at the Union Buildings. She’s opposed to the bill that is now law.
Gwarube’s party the DA will challenge BELA in court. That is good from the DA.
I'm with the DA on BELA. This new law will damage South Africa. It's a socialist, statist law aimed at cementing government control in our communities in South Africa. More government control is not what South Africa needs.
We've already had more government control over the past 30 years of our democracy, and that has hurt economic growth, prosperity, and employment opportunities. The evidence is there. Yet politicians ignore this evidence. Why do they ignore? Well, because what matters to politicians is the next election and the desperate desire to control people, not facts.
South Africans should be opposed to bills that extend the government's powers and control in the country. They must not be fooled into thinking that more government control is “social justice”.
South Africa’s leftists have been very smart in portraying their statist ideology as “social justice”.
Social justice is government leaving people alone, allowing citizens to pursue their goals, ambitions within the bounds of the law.
How we think about the role of the state in our society is very important in the 21st century.
I wish South Africans would read one of the famous essays in economic history, titled “The Use of Knowledge in Society”, by Nobel economist Friedrich A. Hayek, published in 1945.
In this essay, Hayek argues that government bureaucrats know very little about the needs of the people in a society. As a consequence, the government can never set the best policy for the people. Central planning by government bureaucrats is counterproductive, Hayek beautifully argues.
It's a beautiful, powerful essay. It's got no mathematics. Should be readable to most South Africans.
No need for NHI!
And then there is National Health Insurance (NHI), which is another government program the ANC and the DA have fundamental disagreements upon. It’s another program that will test the GNU.
The ANC is pushing ahead with NHI, and whether there will be any compromise remains to be seen.
The DA is right to oppose the NHI as NHI threatens private sector healthcare. South Africa needs a thriving private healthcare sector, so that citizens have choices.
The ANC wants this NHI implemented for ideological reasons, not because it’s something South Africa needs.
Every time you hear the ANC speaking in defence of NHI, they'll tell you that they want “equality” in the provision of healthcare. They are obsessed with the “equality” ideology.
Go to public hospitals where there is full government control, you’ll see a disaster. And now the ANC thinks the government will do a good job if it takes more and full control of South Africa’s healthcare sector. Astonishing!
Why don't they fix the already existing public healthcare? That's where they should be focusing on.
Nobody dies on the street in South Africa, public healthcare exists. It just needs to be fixed by government bureaucrats.
Let me repeat what I have said before as this GNU goes through the tests of BELA and NHI, the formation of the bloated GNU with ten political parties was nothing more than ANC’s strategy to weaken the influence of the DA in government.
The bloated GNU with 10 parties was not necessary, as the ANC could have gone with the DA or the EFF and MK Party in a coalition, to minimize the size of the government that costs taxpayers billions of Rands. But then, well, that’s politics for you. There is almost zero rationality in politics. What matters to politicians are political interests, not the interests of the people. The current bloated government is not in the interest of the people.
Don’t expect the ANC to slow down in its push of its leftist agenda in the GNU. They will not slow down. Hence, it’s important that the DA stands firm and pushes back during the GNU tests. The tests have just begun.
Phumlani M. Majozi is author of a new book “Lessons from Past Heroes” and a political economist. He’s the host of The Phumlani Majozi Show on YouTube. Subscribe to his show here: Phumlani M. Majozi - YouTube.
