Al Jama-ah has made a U-turn to become the latest political party to sign the Statement of Intent (SOI) to form part of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
According to the ANC, ten out of 18 parties with seats in the National Assembly have signed the SOI - ANC, DA, IFP, Patriotic Alliance; GOOD; Pan Africanist Congress of Azania; Freedom Front Plus; UDM; Rise Mzansi and Al Jama-ah.
In a statement on Saturday, the ANC referred to it as a historic agreement.
The ANC, while securing the most votes at 40% in the elections, did not receive enough votes to secure an outright win in order to govern and therefore decided that the GNU model would best fit the national interest, according to the statement.
The parties constituting the GNU together have secured over 70% of the vote.
By yesterday, parties were still negotiating Cabinet posts and the formation of the Executive, with president Cyril Ramaphosa expected to announce the appointments this week.
Al Jama-ah previously declined to join the GNU due to the inclusion of the Democratic Alliance.
Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks previously stated: “Al Jama-ah outrightly rejects a government of national unity because it will include the values of the ‘moonshot pact’ which is anti-humanitarian, supports the genocide of Palestinians and its policies are anti-poor leaving the vast majority of South Africans out in the cold.”
Hendricks was not available for comment yesterday, but Al Jama-ah national spokesperson Shameemah Dollie Salie took to Facebook saying: “...no agreement has been signed and not sure why (the) ANC put out (a) statement in a matter not finalised. No statement out by Al Jamaah so why is this being pushed so speedily. A meeting is currently in progress in this matter. We like many of you are waiting for further feedback.”
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za