In an effort to keep policy friction behind closed doors, the newly adopted rules of engagement in the government of national unity (GNU) forbid any coalition member from seeking informal channels to resolve disputes.
A newly agreed framework for the GNU clearing house, the internal body tasked with managing disputes, compels coalition partners to settle differences early and discreetly.
Parties have committed to “using informal political channels to conduct preventative diplomacy before a matter is tabled for final decision-making in parliament or the cabinet”, according to the document, which Business Day has seen.
The final rules of the body, which is headed by deputy president Paul Mashatile, were adopted by all 10 GNU members earlier this week, less than a month before finance minister Enoch Godongwana presents his medium-term budget policy statement on November 12.
The clearing house rules come after the GNU, comprising the ANC, the DA, the IFP and seven smaller parties, stumbled through several disputes, including over fiscal targets, social spending and reform priorities.
Matters came to a head during the 2025 national budget, when coalition partners clashed over balancing welfare spending with debt reduction.
The clearing house “facilitates the resolution of policy or political disagreements within the GNU” and “is not a decision-making structure”, the document reads.
“The existence of the GNU key structures does not preclude political parties in the GNU, and their representatives, from conducting ad hoc consultations to facilitate co-operation and avoid disputes within the GNU.
“The political parties in the GNU undertake to work together in mutual trust and good faith, with due consideration to the positions and relative size of each party in the GNU, to build consensus in the interest of the people of SA.”
If consensus cannot be found, parties may ultimately “agree to disagree”.
The document says that informal consultation does not replace formal processes, but is intended to “avoid disputes within the GNU”.
If disagreements persist, the clearing house serves as the first formal venue for resolution, meeting monthly and referring deadlocks to the political leaders’ forum.
“The draft terms of reference document was first presented in October 2024. Due to disagreements, the secretariat engaged Prof Jaap de Visser for legal refinement, with key disagreements centred on deadlock-breaking mechanisms and clauses from the GNU statement of intent (especially Clauses 18 and 19.3),” Mashatile’s office said in a statement.
“Subsequently, a working group was formed to resolve these issues, comprising representatives from the DA, Rise Mzansi and the PAC, and chaired by deputy minister of justice & constitutional development Andries Nel,” the statement says.
Submissions to the draft terms of reference were received from GOOD, Al Jama-ah, the DA and the UDM.
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