The DA is said to be optimistic that a deal will be signed soon after a meeting between John Steenhuisen and President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday.
Several people privy to the discussions said the meeting between the two leaders could see a deal signed as early as Tuesday morning.
They said while the DA was negotiating for 12 cabinet posts including the deputy presidency, it would eventually settle on seven or eight cabinet posts during horse trading.
“It was necessary to put those things in a letter and then say we are not moving so that they can also be willing to compromise.
“This thing of deputy president is not there, we’ve never made that demand from the word go. It came in over the weekend because we felt they were taking us for granted, so we said if you want to give us three [cabinet posts] then we will make these demands,” one DA insider said.
They said Steenhuisen sounded positive after the meeting, which meant that “probably concessions have been made about many of the things that will make us happy”.
In a letter from DA federal council chair Helen Zille addressed to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, the party made demands for 12 cabinet ministries and deputy ministers in the same departments.
The party also called for its leader to be appointed as deputy president, arguing it was standard practice in similar governments around the world.
“We can only agree to give up that post if it is replaced with both a minister in the presidency, who is also designated as the leader of government business and participates fully in the policy development and monitoring responsibilities of the presidency, and a deputy minister of finance, who participates fully in the development of the budget,” it said.
Zille said the ANC and DA, as the largest parties, would be required to sacrifice posts proportionally.
“The outcome of this process would produce a cabinet and deputy ministerships to which both the ANC and DA as the largest parties would contribute posts proportionally, as proposed by David Makhura, the ANC’s chief negotiator. He used the term ‘proportionate dilution’ to capture it.”
Zille said directors-general in departments reporting to DA ministers are selected by panels consisting of DA ministers and submitted to the president for his approval. She said such approval cannot reasonably be withheld.
“The contracts of all current DGs would also need to be reconsidered in light of our concern that incumbents may not be amenable to direction from DA ministers, especially given the ANC’s cadre deployment policy.”
She said all tenders in departments reporting to DA ministers issued since the promulgation of the election date must be reviewed.
“It is obviously not possible to effect change in a context where recent decisions by the previous government are rendered irreversible.”
The DA added that a technical “clearing house” should be established, consisting of a representative from each participating party, with a mandate to resolve differences over policy and other decisions of government by consensus, before they become a source of conflict in the cabinet.
“In the event consensus isn’t possible, sufficient consensus would be required, as contemplated in clause 19.3 of the Statement of Intent. In the event that differences prove particularly intractable, they would need to be resolved by the president and the leader of the DA.
“This approach would give proper effect to clause 19 of the Statement of Intent. Finally, please be advised that DA participation in governments in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal depend on our participation in government at national level.”
TimesLIVE
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