Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said on Tuesday he hopes that a meeting between him and African National Congress (ANC) leader and President Cyril Ramaphosa will be the first step in improving coalition relationships and stability and restoring trust amongst partners of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

In a media briefing about the outcomes of the DA's Monday Federal Council meeting, Steenhuisen pointed out that in his letter to Ramaphosa and in the spirit of attempting to improve the relationship between the DA and the ANC, he insisted on meeting with the President prior to the Cabinet Lekgotla scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

Last week, Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law, which the DA, other opposition parties and civil society organisations have threatened legal action against.

With this, the DA declared itself in dispute with the GNU, accusing Ramaphosa of failing to consult with coalition partners on legislation relating to health, education and expropriation.

Steenhuisen emphasised that his party was committed to the GNU, and that it saw it as a clear vehicle for economic growth and job creation.

“… we are not the only party who is feeling excluded from the ANC’s decision-making and feeling marginalised and having been reduced to being spectators. At least three other parties in the GNU have released statements over the last 72 hours indicating their unhappiness with the lack of consultation within the GNU,” he said.

He said he hoped Ramaphosa would treat the matter with urgency and that concrete measures were found to ensure that coalition partners were able to make the GNU work.

Steenhuisen said the DA, as the second largest party in the GNU, must be allowed to express itself, and be allowed to table alternatives for there to be consensus decision-making within the GNU.

“…if that is not possible, it makes further engagement in the GNU incredibly difficult to justify to our voters, the 3.5-million people who trusted us with their votes in this last election,” he stated.

He explained that entering the GNU was not a decision the party made lightly, and said that exiting the GNU would also not be a decision made lightly, as it impacted on South Africa’s economy.

Steenhuisen said the DA would not be taken for granted, or reduced to being spectators, threatening that if the DA cannot influence the growing of the economy and job creation, then it would have to question its involvement with the GNU.

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE ACT

Meanwhile, he said a very real risk to the country remained, pointing to the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act.

He said over the course of the last few months he has submitted detailed programmes, alternatives and had costed various ways to implement universal access to basic healthcare for all South Africans, regardless of their income status or geographic area.

He emphasised that the DA supported universal basic healthcare for all South Africans.

“…however we do not believe that the currently conceived NHI as presented will achieve universal healthcare, and without doing significant damage to the healthcare sector in South Africa and also potentially causing further collapse of the public healthcare sector,” he explained.

He said the constitutional right to access to healthcare services would also be “severely compromised, if not totally destroyed”.

He pointed out that in agreeing to join the GNU, the DA stated it will not be part of any government which “crashes the economy or trashes the Constitution”.

“…if there is an insistence that without any further consultations on NHI in its current form, including the targets that set out to collapse medical aid healthcare and remove tax credits for medical aid, it will not be tolerated,” he stated.