South Africa

Politics, South Africa

Parliamentary Diary: What about Thoko Didiza?

Parliamentary Diary: What about Thoko Didiza?

Wednesday was day two of business at Parliament after the electioneering break. Order of the day included the joint multiparty women’s caucus discussion on decriminalising sex work, an African parliamentary budget office international conference, and the odd committee dealing with a bit of legislation. The real action shifting the political and governance landscape had been spirited away from the parliamentary precinct to a Johannesburg township field, a Sandton hotel and a Cape Town church. And yet, Parliament is not immune from the fallout. By MARIANNE MERTEN.

As co-operation chips fell, the outside negotiations may yet have a direct influence on Parliament. Much revolves around the future of Thoko Didiza, one of the three National Assembly House chairs who was in controversial circumstances parachuted into Tshwane as the ANC’s mayoral candidate at the 11th hour.

Her name had not appeared on the official councillor candidate lists published ahead of polling day, but News24 reports that this was rectified on Monday. Unless the ANC in the executive capital of Tshwane pulls a rabbit out of the hat – it has 89 seats against the DA’s 93, boosted by support from the co-operation agreement announced in a posh Sandton hotel – Didiza is set to be an ordinary councillor. And her post in Parliament is open.

Talk from parliamentary insiders even before the 3 August municipal poll was that this position would be offered to the Freedom Front Plus chief whip Corne Mulder. Tactically, such a move would have allowed the ANC in Parliament to try to widen differences on the opposition benches, or at least dampen long-standing complaints that it was monopolising all the posts in the post-May 2014 election Parliament against previous practice.

On Wednesday Mulder confirmed:

There was talk. Nothing was put formally.”

After days of talks, the FF+ has thrown its lot firmly in with the DA, United Democratic Movement (UDM), IFP, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Cope and, depending on the issue, the Economic Freedom Fighters. By all accounts, the DA’s Solly Msimanga is set to don the mayoral chains in Tshwane.

It remains to be seen whether the ANC’s seeming magnanimity continues – or if the House chair’s post was another bargaining chip in the position-driven politicking that has dominated South African politics to date.

Thoko Didiza, we shall meet in Parliament – there’s not going to be a mayorship – or else be prepared to sit with us on the opposition benches (in Tshwane council),” said EFF leader Julius Malema, maintaining that his party would not trade principles for positions.

Against a backdrop of shacks in a field at Alexandra, Gauteng, Malema announced the EFF’s place in the opposition ranks in councils as in the national legislature:

In Parliament, expect more robustness. The EFF has not lost a single vote (in the municipal poll). That means people are happy… We’ll not disappoint our voters. We’ll represent them as an opposition in Parliament.”

So, heated exchanges in Parliament remain on the cards inside the House across the floor. And outside the House there’s set to be pickets and possibly industrial action.

The labour deadlock at the national legislature remains amid disciplinary proceedings of at least four union officials – the charges of gross insubordination relate to raising points, and singing, in an ultimately abandoned staff meeting in June – and a parliamentary grapevine buzzing about retrenchments and restructuring. A Labour Court may be on the cards.

At a church hall in central Cape Town, it was clear that the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) remained at loggerheads with Secretary to Parliament Gengezi Mgidlana.

But with Nehawu firmly in the fold of the ANC through its labour federation alliance partner Cosatu, there was no talk of punishing the ANC. Quite the contrary. Union members put their hopes on the ANC’s promise on Sunday that it would go “listen” to people.

Maybe now (Baleka) Mbete will listen,” Daily Maverick heard one union member telling the meeting.

To date, various union approaches to find a political solution through Mbete and fellow presiding officer, National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chairwoman Thandi Modise, have not delivered results for Nehawu. But the union is determined to pursue its challenge against Mgidlana. His trips costing R1.8-million to overseas parliaments late last year with a handful of senior managers has particularly upset the union, given these times of cost constraints. Mgidlana’s own report on Parliament’s performance between April and June 2016 tabled on Wednesday shows that a number of projects and programmes have to be scaled down, or are delayed, due to lack of funds.

On Parliament’s political front, there will be four new DA MPs to replace those sent off to councils, and possibly more replacements from other parties. More broadly, Parliament also yet may feel the impact of the plethora of various municipal co-operation permutations that are deeply unfamiliar in democratic South Africa, where coalitions have been formed to firmly clinch power and control. If co-operation in councils works, this may sustain a revival of the co-operation of parliamentary opposition parties, which in the second half of 2014 caused the ANC caucus some serious headaches.

But that’s in the longer term. Closer at hand is Tuesday’s debate on the outcome of the 3 August local government elections, called in the name of ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu. The parliamentary stage is set for the ANC to try to spin its drooping polling support from 62% to 54% and loss of outright control in four of the seven metros. DM

Photo of Thoko Didiza by Greg Nicolson.

Gallery

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