South Africa

Politics, South Africa

Battleground Metros: Joburg’s D-Day dawns

Battleground Metros: Joburg’s D-Day dawns

The country’s biggest metro will elect a mayor today. It’s likely to be the DA’s Herman Mashaba, but as late as Sunday night coalition talks between the major and minor parties continued and the ANC remained confident of taking a victory despite the likelihood of defeat. By GREG NICOLSON.

The ANC in the Johannesburg metro will nominate Parks Tau on Monday for mayor, despite coalition discussions going against the party. On Sunday, the ANC Johannesburg region commented on how national issues have drowned out local government policy and achievements, but the ANC said it was still negotiating with other parties about forming coalitions and would do so until the council votes for its leadership on Monday.

What do I think about Herman?” Tau commented on DA mayoral candidate for Johannesburg Herman Mashaba, “I think he’s a nice guy.”

The incumbent mayor suggested Mashaba does not have the political experience to run the city and his party’s agenda would reverse the transformation gains the city had embarked upon.

The ANC’s Joburg leaders, who are now handling coalition discussions after national and provincial leaders started the conversations, wouldn’t mention which parties they’re in discussion with, but their confidence appears to be undermined by the other parties’ commitments.

Let’s continue to engage with political parties until the last hour,” said ANC Joburg Secretary Dada Morero. The ANC won the most seats in Joburg but will probably be undermined by a coalition of parties aiming to dethrone the ruling government. The ANC won 121 seats in the city, the DA 104, the EFF 30, followed by the IFP with 5, the AIC with 4, and the Freedom Front Plus, ACDP, Aljama, UDM, Cope, and the Patriotic Alliance, all with one seat each. The ANC failed to win an outright majority.

The EFF vote will determine who will be mayor and despite the EFF’s misgivings over candidate Herman Mashaba, it has pledged its vote to the DA. On Sunday, the Freedom Front Plus, Cope, and UDM all said they had not been in discussions with the ANC this weekend, citing their commitment to a coalition agreement to support the DA. EFF Secretary General Godrich Gardee said the party had not spoken to the ANC in Johannesburg over the weekend. On Tau’s confidence, he said, “We wish him luck.”

In Joburg, that leaves the ANC with the AIC, Aljama, Patriotic Alliance and IFP as potential coalition partners. The AIC has cautiously pledged its votes to the ANC. The IFP’s Narend Singh on Sunday night said the party would vote for an opposition leader but discussions continued with the DA and EFF on the finer details.

Gardee said there weren’t any discussions taking place, but he would not definitively say the EFF would vote for the DA in Joburg. He did suggest, however, that the EFF would vote for the leading opposition party, the DA. The EFF has criticised DA mayoral candidate Mashaba, but said it would rather vote for his party than the ANC. With the EFF vote, along with the seats gained from the DA’s coalition partners, the City of Johannesburg is set to become another DA-run municipality.

The Joburg ANC said while they’re still analysing why supporters chose not to vote, messages on local government issues were lost in the discussion over issues like e-tolls and the Constitutional Court ruling against President Jacob Zuma’s upgrades at his Nkandla home.

Tau said he is ready to man the opposition benches if coalition discussions fail to lead to an ANC government in the city, but he cast doubt on the DA’s commitment to transformation. His Sunday statement spent a significant time on the city’s achievements and goals before he questioned the DA’s claim that it can govern better. “But some people say they’re the best, on what? Because the issue is transformation,” said Tau. What’s at stake on Monday, he said, is the transformation agenda.

Mashaba on Sunday said, “At he moment I have nothing to indicate we’re not going to get the support.” He said while discussions continue with the AIC and IFP, the support of the EFF and coalition parties should see him installed as mayor of Johannesburg on Monday.

To the east of Joburg, in Ekurhuleni, DA mayoral candidate Ghaleb Cachalia over the weekend issued a public plea to opposition parties, offering them key positions should they vote for the DA in the council where the ANC only needs a few seats to take leadership. He said discussions with other opposition parties have been positive and noted the importance of voting on a secret ballot. The reality in Ekurhuleni, however, depends on the AIC, which has tentatively entered into an agreement with the ANC and is likely to keep the metro in the hands of the ruling party.

While last-minute discussions have raised some doubt, but most likely Ekurhuleni will go to the ANC and Joburg will be taken by the DA. Both parties, however, have shown they aren’t willing to give up in the hung metros they are set to concede. During the course of the councils’ terms they will continue to vie for votes, hoping to swing the electorate during key municipal decisions, by-elections, and in the run-up to the 2019 elections. While the leadership appears decided, the years ahead are likely to be tumultuous and unpredictable. DM

Photo: The ANC’s Parks Tau, DA’s Herman Mashaba and EFF’s Floyd Shivambu at Daily Maverick’s The Gathering, 11 June 2016, VodaWorld, Midrand. (Greg Nicolson)

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