Press Release – In response to the anticipated press conference of DA Leader John Steenhuisen: The DA in the GNU – Saboteur, Not Partner

The People’s Movement for Change expresses grave concern over the Democratic Alliance’s conduct within the Government of National Unity (GNU), accusing the party of prioritizing partisan politics over national cohesion. By leveraging the budget speech as a Trojan horse, the DA is allegedly targeting the African National Congress (ANC) in what appears to be a calculated effort to destabilize internal cohesion within the GNU. 

Such actions, the Movement argues, undermine the spirit of cooperation and collaboration essential for the effective functioning of the GNU, raising serious questions about the DA’s commitment to the broader national interest. 

The People’s Movement for Change (PMC) notes with concern the growing dysfunction within the Government of National Unity (GNU), and particularly the role of the Democratic Alliance (DA) within it. What was sold to the nation as a unity pact has increasingly revealed itself to be a dual-power arrangement with conflicting agendas and no collective mandate. 

The DA’s presence in the GNU has consistently undermined the policy coherence of government. It has taken public positions at odds with the state on key foreign policy matters through DIRCO, challenged the direction of fiscal and developmental policy through National Treasury, and resisted transformation efforts spearheaded by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. These are not the actions of a constructive partner in unity, but of a political actor protecting its own interests while discrediting its co-governors. 

We must ask plainly: Why is the DA in the GNU? 

If it cannot agree with government priorities, if it contradicts the state on the global stage, and if it actively works against the project of economic redress, then its role can only be to destabilise from within. 

There are now clearly two centres of power. 

One, led by a President attempting to hold together a complex and fragile consensus in a turbulent time.

People’s Movement for Change For The People By The People 

The other, orchestrated by a DA establishment directed by Helen Zille, who increasingly behaves as if she is the guardian of all national wisdom, governing without a social mandate. 

This is not what South Africans voted for. There is no single GNU policy programme. There is no binding social contract between citizens and this formation. The DA uses its position not to build unity, but to escape accountability while preparing to point fingers at its political counterparts. 

We urge the public to reflect: 

If there is no shared policy, no joint vision, and no ideological convergence, then what is this unity based on? 

The PMC continues to call for a People’s Dialogue, built on shared values, not power deals. Unity must serve the people, not partisan agendas. The future cannot be negotiated in boardrooms. It must be built in communities. 

FAMILY. COMMUNITY. OPPORTUNITY. 

Issued by the People’s Movement for Change (PMC) 

Marius Fransman
President
People’s Movement for Change

For any further communication:
Grant Harmse
Head of Communications
People’s Movement for Change
0659784075