The discord between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) on the assignment of cabinet posts reportedly caused a sharp drop in the South African rand’s value on Thursday.
Also read: Ramaphosa’s letter accuses Steenhuisen of shifting goalposts
The rand traded at 18.48 against the dollar at 3:27 GMT, 1.7% weaker than its previous close.
Media reports of a major disagreement between the pro-business DA and President Cyril Ramaphosa over cabinet posts surfaced after the DA agreed to join the president’s government of national unity.
Although the DA expects to get Cabinet positions in the trade, industry and competition ministries, News24 and Business Day reported that Ramaphosa backtracked on this offer.
Cape {town} Etc discount: Looking for things to do in the city at half the price? Get exclusive offers here.
Business Day reported that Ramaphosa retracted his offer after top ANC officials argued that the DA would ‘push back levers of economic redress’. The DA would gain significant powers to direct economic policymaking if they were to hold those ministries.
Instead, Ramaphosa offered the DA ministries such as public works, agriculture and transport, among others.
According to the DA, the party had to ‘swallow a number of concessions in the past weeks including taking a back seat on the speaker of the national assembly’.
‘We are done, enough is enough,’ a senior DA leader told Business Day.
As reported by Reuters, financial markets are on edge as the cabinet’s makeup will reveal if the ANC plans to meaningfully share power with other parties such as the DA.
‘Further delays to the cabinet announcement will only cause jitters to multiply and feed the impression that the GNU (government of national unity) is stumbling at the first hurdle,’ Louw Nel, senior political analyst at Oxford Economics, said.
On Thursday, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index closed on 0.4%. The benchmark 2030 government bond experienced a decline as the yield increased by 30 basis points to 10.125%.
Unleash your inner explorer with these incredible car deals, all priced under R100 000. Find car listings here.
Also read:
DA must decide on joining ANC’s GNU after final offer of only six ministries
Picture: Jeffrey Abrahams / Gallo Images