It seems that the South African Parliament has entered a new era: an era of political maturity.
The atmosphere was strikingly different from before: no interruptions, no chaos and no skirmishes, as President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined plans for the first time since the coalition government took office.
This came as the ANC failed to secure more than 50% of the vote for the first time in the democratic era.
Former President Jacob Zuma – who leads the party uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) but was disqualified from participating in the elections as a member of parliament just before the elections in May – he declined the invitation to attend Thursday’s meeting.
Now that parliament has reopened, the MK, a party founded less than a year ago, is recognised as the official opposition party.
The leader of the House of Representatives, disgraced former judge John Hlophe, had promised not to get involved in petty politics.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), known for their disruptive, harassing and brawling attitude in parliament, had also promised to bring about change. Party leader Juilius Malema said the EFF would form a constructive opposition.
Members of the Democratic Alliance (DA), formerly South Africa’s official opposition party but now part of the coalition government, nodded and clapped during an hour-long speech as ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa outlined key priorities.
Examples include rapid, inclusive economic growth, job creation and tackling the high costs of basic goods.
Ramaphosa’s modest ANC entered parliament with its fewest members since the party came to power 30 years ago.
After the ANC lost its parliamentary majority formed an initially shaky coalition with nine other political partiesMr Ramaphosa’s speech followed the coalition government’s first cabinet meeting since the vote.
The meeting “underscored the determination of all members of the Government of National Unity to work together to advance the interests of all South Africans,” he told parliament.
The priorities he announced are mainly a combination of ANC policies and some concessions he is making to address the concerns of the DA, South Africa’s second-largest party and the ANC’s long-standing rival.
The DA, which promotes a free market, is ideologically at odds with the ANC’s traditions of social welfare. Many see the party as serving the interests of the white minority, which the party itself denies.
In his speech, Mr Ramaphosa stated firmly that economic growth “must support the empowerment of black South Africans and women, and of those who have historically been relegated to the margins of the economy”.
The government, which has the support of 70% of MPs, will also make “massive” investments in infrastructure and has pledged to turn the entire country “into a construction site”.
The second area of focus is expanding the range of essential food items that are exempt from VAT, to address the high cost of living.
This is an initiative the DA lobbied for in a bid to eradicate poverty, TK Pooe, a senior researcher at the Wits School of Governance, told the BBC.
Another partial concession, the ANC plan to introduce compulsory universal health care for all, will now proceed, subject to consultation with stakeholders. The DA and private health insurance groups had threatened legal action, arguing that the scheme violated the right to choose a provider.
“The court will be the last resort,” DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen told reporters outside parliament.
“We are now in government and have a forum in which we can negotiate,” he said, welcoming Mr Ramaphosa’s speech.
New Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie was also pleased, saying it was the “best” speech Mr Ramaphosa had ever given.
However, John Trollip of Action SA, a political party that is not part of the new government, said the president’s speech lacked credibility and sounded like many previous speeches.
The EFF’s Mr Malema told national broadcaster SABC that “it is very clear that the president has no plan to change South Africa for the better”.
But Pooe said that what the president did not explicitly mention – foreign policy and the ANC’s ties to Gaza and Russia – are just as important as the priorities he outlined.
“It will be interesting to see how the statements about Israel and Russia will now be toned down a bit to accommodate the many voices in the room,” he said, referring to the DA’s support for Israel.
MK’s John Hlophe agreed.
“He didn’t raise the issue of Palestine because the DA is watching him,” he said. Mr Hlophe added that the speech was “appalling” and silent on land reform without compensation – a central MK policy and a major national issue.
White people, who make up only 7% of the population, own the vast majority of privately owned agricultural land.
There has long been debate about whether the state should redistribute this land without paying the owners.
Mr. Pooe felt that the President’s speech did not promise too much.
“We don’t expect a radical change and that could be positive. (The speech said) these are the bottlenecks that are holding the country back: energy, infrastructure, local governance and this is what is going to be addressed,” he said.
“If the grand coalition can stick to those issues and then involve private actors in the other issues, that will be better for South Africa.”
Perhaps it was intentional that the opening of parliament coincided with the birthday of the country’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, who at the time was a symbol of hope and renewal in a country in crisis.
On Thursday, that hope may not have been entirely restored. But Mr Ramaphosa said the unity government would “seek to build consensus on issues where we disagree”.
He acknowledged that they would have to work hard to reach this consensus.
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