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Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene says the party and its leader, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, will remain in the Government of National Unity (GNU) after reaching common ground with the ANC during high-level talks in Johannesburg on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
The meeting followed McKenzie’s announcement last week that he would resign from Cabinet and that the PA would withdraw from all governing coalitions with the ANC at national, provincial, and local levels on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He cited \u201cbad faith,\u201d political betrayal, and \u201cdisrespect\u201d from ANC leaders, particularly in Gauteng, as the basis for the party\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
McKenzie said tensions began in Ekurhuleni, where the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) allegedly told the ANC they did not want the PA in the coalition. \u201cWe didn\u2019t form part,\u201d he wrote in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n
He added that in Johannesburg, the PA had initially held two portfolios, Human Settlements and Roads and Transport, but agreed to give one up when asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were approached by ANC to relinquish the post of Human Settlements to the IFP. We agreed because we wanted a stronger coalition. We were the only party willing to do that,\u201d McKenzie said. \u201cWe were left with one portfolio: Roads and Transport.\u201d<\/p>\n
That last portfolio became a flashpoint when Kunene stepped down as MMC following public criticism. McKenzie said the PA made the move \u201cto spare the coalition the agony of answering questions about someone who is not from their party.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Kunene now says Tuesday\u2019s meeting with ANC leaders has \u201cput to bed\u201d the resignation threat and the party\u2019s plan to withdraw from coalitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis meeting has put to bed the issue of the resignation of the president, Gayton McKenzie, or us withdrawing from coalitions,\u201d Kunene said during a live broadcast. \u201cThe proposals made sense and we are quite excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described the engagement as constructive and broader than expected, covering not only Johannesburg, but also issues in Ekurhuleni, Mfuleni, Tshwane and the West Rand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very, very excited. We are very happy. We had the opportunity to brief our president, and he\u2019s also very happy about how the meeting went,\u201d said Kunene.<\/p>\n
Kunene confirmed that the ANC delegation included co-convenors Amos Masondo and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, along with senior members of the Gauteng Provincial Task Team: Ntombi Mekgwe as Deputy Provincial Convenor, Hope Papo as Provincial Coordinator, Nomantu Ralehoko-Nkomo as Provincial Deputy Coordinator, and Tasneem Motara as Provincial Fundraiser. Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero also joined the meeting.<\/p>\n
The PA delegation included national chairperson Marlon Daniels, national spokesperson Steve Motale, treasurer general Anthea Leach, and head of marketing Bakam Lituko.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ANC came with some proposals and we also had our own inputs,\u201d Kunene said. \u201cWe have also highlighted our dissatisfactions with the ANC in terms of how things are being handled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniels said the PA had seized the opportunity to add other issues to the agenda, prompting both parties to go back to their respective structures before finalising anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s much more than what we bargained for that we need to concur on,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cNo decisions get taken not in the interest of the organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kunene and Daniels acknowledged that they had been sent with a clear mandate to return with one answer on Tuesday night, but deviated from it after expanding the scope of discussions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe brought it upon ourselves and therefore we\u2019ll take responsibility for the postponement until later in the week,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n
The PA is expected to convene a full National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting before Friday to finalise its response and schedule a follow-up with the ANC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the short feedback that we wanted to give you. May you be blessed, patriots. We\u2019ve got work ahead,\u201d Kunene said in closing, calling on supporters to continue community work and voter mobilisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are forming parties. They think this thing of politics is pap and vleis. It\u2019s difficult. It needs blessings. It needs character. Very, very strong character. But it needs vision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they talk about us, when they insult us, when they say things about us, don\u2019t worry. They are losers who are focusing on us, the winners, because we focus on victory. That is why we are the fastest-growing political party in the country,” said Kunene. <\/p>\n
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za <\/p>\n
Politics <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene says the party and its leader, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, will remain in the Government of National Unity (GNU) after reaching common ground with the ANC during high-level talks in Johannesburg on Tuesday night. The meeting followed McKenzie’s announcement last week that he would resign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":252495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2475,418,16440,3118,3119,5414,1362],"class_list":["post-252494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","tag-anc","tag-confirms","tag-gnu","tag-kenny","tag-kunene","tag-stays","tag-talks"],"yoast_head":"\nGet your news on the go. Download the latest App for Android and IOS now.<\/em><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"