South Africa’s main coalition partners are locked in a row just weeks after agreeing to share power, with President Cyril Ramaphosa accusing Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen of trying to create an unconstitutional “parallel government”.
He is said to have made the explosive allegation in a letter to Mr Steenhuisen on June 25, which has been seen by local media.
Markets tumbled on news of deepening rifts just as Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) and DA were due to allocate cabinet posts and take office.
When the ANC failed to win an outright majority in last month’s election, the main opposition DA agreed to form a national unity government that would keep President Ramaphosa in power in exchange for DA politicians receiving cabinet posts.
The ANC also subsequently signed a coalition agreement with eight smaller parties, with Mr Ramaphosa facing pressure to include at least some of them in cabinet.
Ramaphosa wrote the angry letter after making his final offer to the district attorney for six cabinet posts, according to local media reports.
According to the News24 website, the DA then requested two more posts, which angered ANC brass.
In his letter, Mr Ramaphosa accused DA leaders of “changing goals” during the negotiations.
He also rebuked the DA’s powerful federal chairwoman Helen Zille, who called the demands “offensive, condescending and unconstitutional”.
Local media also reported that Mr Ramaphosa had reneged on a promise to hand over the DA to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, a key position in boosting South Africa’s struggling economy.
In response to the snub, the DA leader told Mr Ramaphosa that unless he adhered to a previous agreement between the two parties, “the agreement will be cancelled”, according to News 24.
The current row is causing consternation as South Africa enters unfamiliar political territory.
The ANC has lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since taking power after the end of apartheid in 1994.
It received 40% of the vote, while the DA received 22%.
Initially, analysts told the BBC that both sides were likely to be posturing to try to get the best deal for themselves, but the latest leaked letters suggest deeper differences, which some fear could undermine their June 14 signing coalition government agreement.
News that the deal may collapse caused the South African rand to plummet against the dollar.
The business community strongly advocates a bipartisan deal, arguing it would help achieve economic stability.
