What does this old yet renewed form of government mean for citizens, and how will it reshape the political landscape? To explore these questions, the Daily Maverick hosted a webinar to discuss the recently announced government of national unity and the imperative for South Africa to make it work. It featured two former ministers from the first GNU in 1994, offering their insights and experiences.

'We are sitting in a position where there is no alternative and the only way forward is to have a coalition and that requires trust, commitment, leadership and political maturity. The document that surfaced over the weekend on the government of national unity is good, but the key issue is whether the parties can convene to build trust going forward."

This is according to Trevor Manuel, a minister in the first government of national unity in 1994, who was speaking during a webinar hosted by Daily Maverick. Roelf Meyer, another minister in the first GNU, Daily Maverick associate editor Ferial Haffajee and senior journalist Rebecca Davis joined him to discuss how we can make the GNU work in 2024.

For Meyer, the GNU document is much better than what South Africans might have expected, considering it was produced in a short time.

"Fourteen days is usually short for these kinds of power-sharing agreements, considering there were no prior agreements. To me, it shows the dedication to make it happen, and already the implementation at a provincial level gives me hope and is quite significant."

Ahead of the presidential inauguration on Wednesday, a power-sharing deal was struck last Friday between five...