Aspirant: Mbuyiseni Ndlozi is the Economic Freedom Fighters’ candidate for Gauteng’s premier, pitting him against the ANC’s Panyaza Lesufi and the Democratic Alliance’s Solly Msimanga. Photo: OJ Koloti/Gallo Images
With just under a week to go until the 29 May elections, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is looking to negotiate for key positions in the Gauteng government if it attains its target of more than one million votes in the province, says its candidate for premier, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
The EFF sees the dysfunctional City of Tshwane — which has just more than 1.6 million registered voters — as an opportunity to significantly boost its support in Gauteng, Ndlozi said in an interview this week.
“We believe the number of votes we get will give us negotiation power to take key positions in the province,” he said.
“The communities have resolved to themselves a long time ago that we can govern and that we must govern. When our people vote for us it is because they believe we can govern and we must show that in Gauteng and nationally.”
The Tshwane metro has been an area of concern for the ruling ANC, as reiterated by its elections head, Mdumiseni Ntuli, during a national executive committee meeting, a recording of which was leaked to the media.
Ndlozi dismissed criticism of the EFF’s role in another dysfunctional Gauteng metro, Ekurhuleni, as “failed anti-EFF propaganda campaign meant to destabilise the party”.
For 2022/23, the metro received an unqualified audit opinion with material findings. The auditor general flagged concerns about Ekurhuleni’s irregular expenditure of more than R20-million and noted the city’s weak internal mechanisms on contract, procurement and supply chain management.
This week, Ndlozi said that because the coalition government arrangement was still a fairly new concept in South Africa, it was expected that parties would fight among themselves.
“Coalition stability has to do with one common agenda. Secondly, just always remember you didn’t win elections so it means you constantly have to work with people, some of whom you won’t like, but you’ve got to give in. But if you treat people like when you won a majority, it won’t work. It will result in constant instability,” he said.
Ndlozi said although the EFF had not formally discussed its strategy for after the elections, it would negotiate with parties that shared its values.
EFF leader Julius Malema has touted Ndlozi as a suitable contender to go up against the incumbent premier, Panyaza Lesufi of the ANC, and the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) candidate, Solly Msimanga.
Ndlozi — who leads the EFF’s political education portfolio — was sent to Gauteng as the party’s election head to increase its voter base and strengthen its presence and influence.
He has been an MP since 2014 and previously served as the EFF’s spokesperson.
Gauteng has the highest electorate in the country, accounting for 23.45% of the national tally, while KwaZulu-Natal comes second with 20.79%. The Eastern Cape has the third-largest voter registration numbers at 12.42%.
The EFF’s share of the votes in Gauteng increased to 14.69% in the 2019 elections from 10.30% in 2014. Its support rose from 451 318 votes in the 2019 general elections, to 634 387 in the 2021 local government elections.
The City of Tshwane, which is run by a DA-led coalition — has been accused of poor service delivery, the neglect of townships, messy financials and electricity and water problems, the latter of which was highlighted in a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal last year.
He said it was time for South Africa to call out the Tshwane administration for failing to provide services.
“The finances of that place are in a complete mess. No one is calling them out. No one is worried because South Africa suffers deeply from racial antagonism where white people are concerned. Their incompetence is not called out, which is a big problem that needs to be addressed.”
Ndlozi said the situation in Tshwane presented an opportunity for the EFF to convince voters that it is capable of addressing their needs, adding that the party would do away with “corrupt tendering” processes that have contributed to unfinished projects, including the upgrade of the Rooiwal water treatment plant.
“The people appreciate the idea of scrapping the tendering process because, for the last 30 years, the tenders have been at the centre of corruption,” he said.
Ndlozi said the government must have its own construction company that hired permanent workers to build and maintain roads and other public infrastructure.
The EFF has had to fight allegations contained in a report by investigative journalism organisation amaBhungane that Malema and its secretary general, Marshall Dlamini, were involved in a dubious City of Tshwane fuel tender worth about half a billion rand. The matter was investigated by the Hawks. Both leaders denied any involvement in corruption.
The ANC has wrestled with whether it would turn to the Red Berets to form a coalition should it dip below 50% in next week’s elections. Some senior ANC officials in Gauteng believe a coalition with the EFF is a possible solution, but its national leaders have argued against any partnership with Malema. Ndlozi said a partnership with the EFF would provide a more workable agreement as opposed to the Multi-Party Charterr spearheaded by the DA. He claimed that the EFF had been instrumental in restoring stability in the City of Johannesburg when it joined a coalition government with the ANC and other small parties.
The print version of this article did not provide the full context of the auditor general’s findings or the full timeline of wasteful expenditure. This has been corrected.