Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

19 August 2025

1-minute read

Following Rise Mzansi’s media briefing one year after the formation of the GNU, the party says that the Government of National Unity needs an urgent reset, calling for shared obligation and expected conduct to avoid internal disputes.

Spokesperson Mabin Siyebi stated that “effectively, the GNU is an experiment…a learning curve” in which the real problems within government are not being faced head-on. He says that many South Africans tend to forget that there is a GNU except in times of a crisis like at the time of the Budget, the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act and the Expropriation Act.

“There isn’t a coalition agreement amongst the parties within the GNU,” Siyebi emphasized, and it is only when crises arise that things get hashed out. The committee for policy issues last met in March! Rise Mzansi is calling for “regular and scheduled meetings of the leaders” and a GNU legotla to iron out interpersonal issues, culminating in the “signing of an actual coalition agreement.”

“As leaders we must all take blame,” Siyebi says, to ensure the existence and success of this coalition, instead of “throwing daggers at each other” in public, because “voters are looking for leadership,” and they expect political parties to act ethically to build South Africa.

Rise Mzansi is not opposed to expanding the number of political parties within the Government of National Unity, but Mabin Siyebi feels that they should first sort out the current problems that exist among parties already in the GNU.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Mabin Siyebi.