{"id":103377,"date":"2026-01-29T18:14:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T16:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=103377"},"modified":"2026-01-29T18:17:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T16:17:05","slug":"gnu-stability-under-scrutiny-as-local-elections-loom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/gnu-stability-under-scrutiny-as-local-elections-loom\/","title":{"rendered":"GNU stability under scrutiny as local elections loom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read
\n28 January 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 As elections near, the GNU\u2019s true test will be service delivery not slogans, but real change felt on the ground.<\/p><\/div>\n

At the start of 2026, South Africa\u2019s Government of National Unity (GNU) is projecting an image of calm after a turbulent first year marked by public spats and policy disagreements. With budgets passed and tensions seemingly eased, political analysts caution that the apparent stability may be less about cohesion and more about restraint ahead of looming local government elections.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast says the GNU does appear more stable than it did a year ago, but warns that coalition politics are inherently fraught. \u201cThere is no coalition arrangement on the face of the earth that is perfect,\u201d he said, adding that conflict is inevitable. The real test, according to Breakfast, lies in whether coalition partners have effective mechanisms to manage disagreements rather than allowing them to fracture the alliance.<\/p>\n

Fiscal policy remains one of the GNU\u2019s most contentious areas. Dr Breakfast noted that while some partners, including the ANC, favour a more expansionary approach, others have pushed for tighter fiscal discipline. \u201cOn the whole there is a sense of stability,\u201d he said, despite ongoing \u201cups and downs\u201d.<\/p>\n

Professor Sipho Seepe echoed this view, arguing that the reduced public fighting reflects a phase where major policy battles have already been fought. \u201cThe running of government from day to day is almost normal,\u201d he said, adding that political posturing tends to intensify only when major policy decisions are on the table.<\/p>\n

However, Seepe stressed that the GNU will not be judged on how well its partners get along, but on tangible outcomes. \u201cIf you take the notion of poverty reduction, it has failed. If we talk about job creation, it has failed,\u201d he said, noting that infrastructure reform and governance improvements have also fallen short in the eyes of many voters.<\/p>\n

Performance assessments of ministers further complicate the picture. Seepe pointed out that of those receiving poor performance scores, \u201c18 of them\u2026 are members of the ANC\u201d, while some non-ANC ministers have been more vocal about delivery. He added that by-election results since 2024 show declining ANC support, suggesting voter impatience with underperformance.<\/p>\n

As local government elections approach, analysts agree that the GNU\u2019s fragile calm may not hold. Parties are expected to reassert their individual identities and campaign on track records rather than unity. \u201cIt will no longer be the promises, the rhetoric, it will be people\u2019s experience on the ground,\u201d Seepe said.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, both analysts agree that the local elections will serve as the real stress test for the GNU revealing whether it is a viable model for governance or merely a temporary ceasefire in South Africa\u2019s evolving coalition era.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> <\/a>with Annisa Essack, dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast and Professor Sipho Seepe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 28 January 2026 At the start of 2026, South Africa\u2019s Government of National Unity (GNU) is projecting an image of calm after a turbulent first year marked by public spats and policy disagreements. With budgets passed and tensions seemingly eased, political analysts caution that the apparent stability may be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":103378,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Local-elections.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qTn","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-10 20:08:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}