- The first parliamentary session to elect the president and speaker of parliament will be held on Friday.
- Chief Justice Raymond Zondo announced the date on Monday afternoon.
- Sources close to the negotiations say IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa could become second deputy president in an ANC-DA-IFP coalition government.
IFP President Berenkosini Hlabisa is expected to take up her role as second vice president in the West Wing of the Union Buildings once a seventh government under the Government of National Unity (GNU) is formed.
Sources close to the negotiations say the ANC is strongly backing a GNU with the DA and IFP, and whoever is elected president would reshuffle the makeup of his cabinet to include a second deputy president.
There is widespread speculation that Hlabisa could serve as vice president alongside Paul Mashatile.
The position of Speaker of Parliament, which the DA is likely to take on, is also being discussed in the talks.
This is not the first time a president has had two vice-presidents: in 1994, former president FW de Klerk served as Nelson Mandela's vice-president alongside Thabo Mbeki.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo announced on Monday afternoon that Parliament's first sitting will be held on Friday, June 14, meaning state legislatures will also have to meet on the same day.
The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to take place on June 19th.
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“They will elect a president this Friday. They will also elect a speaker and deputy speaker of parliament. But they could also change the administration at a later date to elect two deputy presidents, Paul Mashatile and Belenkosini Hlabisa, and give them powers as the DA wishes,” said an anonymous source familiar with preparations for the first parliamentary session.
Zondo is expected to convene the first meeting.
Zondo's office said that after MPs are sworn in or give the prescribed sworn statements, he will preside over the election of the Speaker of Parliament.
Once the speaker is selected, he or she will preside over the election of the deputy speaker, after which Mr Zondo will take over the election of the president.
News24 understands that the DA wants to play an oversight role in the GNU and have a strategic ministerial position.
The source added:
You know, they are smart and will want key positions in economy, trade, industry and so on.The ANC is leaning strongly towards a coalition government with the DA and the IFP.
The seventh administration president will mark Youth Day at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, on Sunday.
News24 reported that another reason the date was being discussed could have been to assess whether President Ramaphosa would be able to attend the 50th G7 Summit, which will be held in Fasano, Puglia, Italy from 13-15 June.
The source added, “The president was due to attend the G7 so it was important to know if they were going to attend, but given that it's the 14th I don't think he's going to the G7.”
Another senior ANC official close to the negotiations said the party was trying to make “as many concessions as possible” to other parties.
“The president will have an executive role. The president can appoint one, two or three vice presidents. Discussions are still ongoing, but we are trying to be as flexible as possible,” he said.
“De Klerk and Thabo Mbeki were deputy presidents at the time and we are trying to be as inclusive as possible without undermining the ANC.”
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He said that while the GNU format had been discussed privately, the name had not been discussed.
“We are also discussing the principles, but the issue regarding the name will be discussed after the appointment of the president,” he added.
Asked for comment on Monday, Hlabisa said he was unable to speak as he was in an NEC meeting, while IFP secretary-general Siphoseth Ngcobo referred News24 to national spokesperson Liesel van der Merwe, whose phone went to voicemail.
“No, it's a rumour we got from somewhere,” said IFP financial director Narend Singh.
Asked if the IFP had put this on the negotiating table, Singh again said “no.”
But a senior IFP member told News24: “It seems right, that's all I can say.”
A source close to the ANC's technical team, which is advising the negotiating team, said there were also plans to reduce the cabinet to 24 or 26 members.
A team working closely with the negotiating team is also considering modalities and frameworks surrounding this issue.
Meanwhile, the DA's Federal Council also met on Monday, in what sources reported was a tense meeting.
“we [the DA] “If we want to fight back or push forward on certain things we will be outnumbered,” the source said, noting that the party's role in parliament could be weakened if it were to form a coalition government with the ANC or the GNU.
DA leader John Steenhausen is thought to have made a strong case for joining government.
The meeting had to be extended due to logistics and travel arrangements and was due to continue on Tuesday.
News24 understands that reducing the number of ministers could tip the balance in favour of the ANC.
“The plan is that if the DA doesn’t agree to something, the DA and smaller parties can still have a majority, even though the MK Party and the EFF are not part of the agreement. [the ANC] “Even if we exclude the DA, the MK Party and the EFF, we will still have 210 seats, but we will still have a majority,” he said.
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Presidency spokesperson Vincent Mugwenya confirmed to News24 that President Ramaphosa would not be attending the G7 meeting in Italy due to domestic priorities.
“Firstly, the President will not be attending the upcoming G7 meeting in Italy. Secondly, no such meeting has ever taken place. The oath of office of members of Parliament is the sole responsibility of the Supreme Court. [Chief Justice]”The President has no intention of interfering with the constitutional powers of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. So it is a total lie that the President met with the Chief Justice last night or on any other day regarding the swearing-in of members of Parliament,” he said.
“These rumours have been circulating since the weekend. The President had decided not to attend the G7 meeting to prioritise domestic priorities. Reuters' report that the President would be attending the G7 was inaccurate and I have advised Business Day to correct their article as we had not issued a statement to that effect.”
