The government of national unity (GNU) – or rather a grand coalition of sorts – is admittedly not perfect. That much we know.
But we are stuck with this Janus-faced creature for now, and in essence, it is arguably the most palatable outcome given the election results. In other words, it could have been a lot worse if the alternatives are scrutinized and weighed.
So, going forward and leaving the opposition question aside for a moment, what are some of the benefits and drawbacks of this arrangement regarding its functioning and policy-making dynamics?
In my view, the main benefit is that its makeup constrains the most extremist impulses of the various parties. The PAC’s Mzwanele Nyhontso, who is now the minister of land reform & rural development, recently told Sunday Times that he would take all white land and redistribute it to blacks, if he had his way. “If the PAC had won the elections, I would be saying ‘the land is going to be restored to its rightful owners’,” he said.
But he didn’t win the elections. Not even close. His party only received 0.23% of the votes, which is barely enough for one MP.
Why they were rewarded with a controversial cabinet position is beyond me (perhaps a sop to the Left after the bigger players got snubbed), but Nyhontso also said he won’t waste his five-year tenure to amend Section 25 of the Constitution and would reform land ownership within the confines of the law.