DA discussions on GNU fate are ongoing, says Helen Zille

DA federal council chair Helen Zille says the party is still deliberating over its future as the ANC's biggest partner in the GNU.

This follows a 90-minute DA federal executive meeting which sat on Thursday, shortly after the party launched a court bid to overturn the fiscal framework passed in parliament on Wednesday, which they rejected.

“We began our discussions on the current situation in relation to the budget, economic reform, the VAT increase and the DA's position in the GNU. These discussions are not yet final and will be ongoing,” said Zille.

A day before the budget, DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau dared the ANC to try to pass the budget without them.

“They must try to pass that budget without the DA, we will see. The DA will not sit and work with a budget that we do not believe serves the best interests of South Africans. If push comes to shove and we find ourselves in a position where the GNU is unworkable altogether, where there is no sobriety as far as the direction we are to take, then if we must, we will leave,” she threatened.

The blue party's objection to the budget has raised questions about the DA's continued existence as the ANC's GNU partner.

This has intensified calls in the ANC for its leaders to expel the DA from the GNU, with some arguing it was untenable for Zille's party to remain in a government whose budget it rejected. 

Similarly, some in the DA argue it's time for their party to exit the arrangement, arguing the ANC has been undermining them for the past eight months since the formation of the unity government.

But the DA's FedEx meeting on Thursday ended with no final decision on the matter as insiders indicated that they were still assessing all their available options.

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