Former finance minister Malusi Gigaba said even though political parties incorporated in the Government of National Unity (GNU) might have friction due to their opposed ideologies, the political arrangement will work to move South Africa forward.
On Thursday night, Gigaba who remains an African National Congress Member of Parliament, told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that all political parties involved in the GNU have no option but to work together to achieve the national goals, including eradicating poverty.
“The government of national unity has been occasioned by the outcome of the elections. The results have necessitated that we should work together,” Gigaba said.
“We do expect that there will be challenges arising from the fact that you have brought into the GNU political organisations, of which the leading two have diametrically opposed policies,” he said.
“So there will be contradictions, there will be some friction but we do expect that we will all be matured enough to try and work together for the common good of the country. The topmost priority in South Africa today is the creation of jobs, the growth of the economy, and redistribution of the wealth of the country,” Gigaba said.
“So all political parties that are part of the government of national unity have got to recognise that and work together towards that goal.”
On Thursday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the opening of Parliament at Parliament in Cape Town.
The government of national unity was formed after Ramaphosa led the ANC to its lowest performance since the 1994 political dispensation, which saw the former liberation movement obtaining just 40% of the national vote.
In 2018, IOL reported that Gigaba had resigned from his post as minister of home affairs. At the time, the Presidency said Gigaba indicated in his letter of resignation that he was stepping aside "for the sake of our country and the movement to which he belongs".
IOL