SA’s government of national unity (GNU) was meant, among other things, to herald stability and progress. Instead, it has seemingly devolved into a cesspool of political infighting, legislative inertia and stagnation, particularly in the crucial realm of digital transformation.
While coalition governments worldwide are often romanticised as bastions of inclusivity, the reality in SA is far uglier: they frequently collapse under the weight of dysfunction. SA’s GNU, made up of 10 political parties, is the latest cautionary tale, proving yet again that coalitions tend to falter.
The ANC and DA are the biggest parties in the GNU. The ongoing feud between communications minister Solly Malatsi from the DA and the ANC’s Khusela Diko, chair of the portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies, over IT procurement regulations, epitomises the GNU’s incompetence in steering the country into the digital era to attract investors.
Diko’s relentless obstructionism seems less about policy and more about positioning herself for Malatsi’s job in a possible future cabinet reshuffle. Amid the endless squabbling about the best way forward, SA’s ICT sector remains stagnant and crippled by prehistoric legislation.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA Act of 2000, and the Electronic Communications Act of 2005, were drafted for a bygone era — long before smartphones, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) redefined global connectivity. These outdated laws are laughably inadequate for today’s digital economy, let alone the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
Yet under the GNU there appears to be no urgency to modernise or scrap them. Malatsi’s attempts at reform are destined to be hindered by Diko’s committee, not because the revisions lack merit but because political victories are a priority in this fractured coalition.
The GNU’s structural dysfunction ensures that even the most common sense reforms drown in endless debate or court challenges. Consider Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet venture. Malatsi proposed a pragmatic fix: allowing foreign firms to invest directly in underserved communities instead of being shackled by section 63 of the Broadcasting Act, which mandates local equity sales. Yet this proposal languishes because the GNU’s warring factions cannot agree on even the most rudimentary regulatory updates.
The recent court-enforced budget revision process emphasises the paralysis in the GNU. If the dominant parties are not arguing in parliament over one thing or the other, they are embroiled in court action to have their way. The message to global investors is unmistakable: SA is hostile to innovation and mired in bureaucratic quicksand.
The GNU’s chronic indecision on investment-friendly policies guarantees the country’s continued economic decline. For example, the Audio and Audiovisual Media Services White Paper, which is critical for regulating tech giants such as Netflix, Google and Meta, is collecting dust.
The department of employment & labour’s employment reforms are also set to ignite ANC-DA battles, instead of a constructive debate. Every pivotal policy discussion degenerates into political trench warfare, with no resolution in sight.
The brutal truth? From the outside looking in, the GNU seems structurally incapable of effective governance. It appears to be a fragile, self-serving alliance where obstruction is the norm and compromise a rarity. Yet while coalitions don’t seem to work well in SA, ditching DA could be equally economically disastrous.
Either way, SA cannot afford this stagnation, not when digital transformation is rewriting the rules of global competitiveness. If the country hopes to compete in the digital economy it needs bold, decisive leadership, not endless squabbling. Tech won’t wait for politicians to agree.
Without a legislative overhaul and a GNU that prioritises innovation over political party infighting, SA will remain shackled to analogue while the world surges ahead.
The choice is stark: either the GNU starts governing in the national interest, or SA must abandon this failed political experiment and accept the consequences — before the infighting costs the nation its digital future.
• Lourie is founder and editor of TechFinancials.
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