Panyaza Lesufi was re-elected Gauteng premier last week and it is widely assumed that his cabinet will include a mix of ANC and DA politicians. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Despite the ANC failing to win Gauteng with an outright majority, Panyaza Lesufi is set to make a comeback for his second term as the province’s premier.
The ANC will announce its premier candidate before the legislature sits on Friday, but the Mail & Guardian understands that Lesufi emerged as the preferred candidate for the job after interviews were conducted by the party’s top seven officials last week.
Lesufi was challenged by the Gauteng MEC for economic development Tasneem Motara and Morakane Mosupyoe, the MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation.
A number of ANC Gauteng insiders said Lesufi was “definitely” coming back as premier.
One insider said Lesufi deserved a second term and it was now up to the national team responsible for coalition negotiations to ensure that it happened.
“I can tell you, he [Lesufi] is our premier candidate. Everything being negotiated nationally is obviously going to flow to the provinces. It’s not just Gauteng, it’s Northern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal but we want Panyaza to be [Gauteng’s] premier,” said the insider.
ANC provincial spokesperson Lesego Makhubela and Gauteng elections head Lebogang Maile did not respond to the M&G’s questions.
But negotiations over who will run Gauteng are continuing, with at least the three big parties having had preliminary talks about a possible coalition ahead of the Friday sitting, at which a premier, speaker and deputy speaker will be elected.
New kid on the block, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which is the fourth biggest party in the province with eight seats (9,79%), is yet to put forward a premier candidate or say whether it would support the ANC in a bid to form a government.
The MK party has also been clear that it would only support the ANC if president Cyril Ramaphosa stepped down.
MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela did not respond to questions about the party’s position in Gauteng.
Democratic Alliance (DA) premier candidate Solly Msimanga said his party would be willing to talk to all the parties, but would not be party to any arrangement that included the MK party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
The DA obtained 22 seats (27.44%) in the legislature.
Msimanga said the DA had made it clear that it would only work with parties that supported the country’s Constitution.
A DA insider said they could not give a straight answer as to whether the Gauteng premier position would be something the party would demand to form a coalition with the ANC, adding that a number of matters were hinging on this.
“The ANC might want to negotiate with KwaZulu-Natal based on Gauteng, or Gauteng based on KwaZulu-Natal. Personally, if you ask me, I think Solly has worked hard, and he should take the premier position, but we must listen to what the party is saying and what the strategic outcomes are.
“We need to look at what is in the best interest of the country. Remember, we had initially said we would not want to work with the ANC and we wanted to go with it alone. Unfortunately our coalition partner or those who were part of the multi-party [charter] didn’t do their work. They didn’t get the numbers and we can’t form a government with them.”
The insider said that to avoid what the DA has previously called the “doomsday coalition”, it might need to compromise and work with the ANC.
Patriotic Alliance (deputy president Kenny Kunene — who is also the party’s Gauteng premier candidate — said one of the PA’s wishes would be to run the department of home affairs. The party obtained two seats (2.33%).
Kunene said the ANC needs the PA in the Northern Cape, Gauteng and nationally, along with other parties.
“We are keen on working with the ANC provided what they offer us. They have got different scenarios that they can implement but we are one of those scenarios. The discussion has been very high-level, but we did not go to specifics. You must also remember that there are also ambassadors and we would need to talk.”
He said if the ANC offers the PA Gauteng, this would need to take it to the party’s supporters.
Kunene added that it would be a “big mistake” for the ANC to team up with the DA because that coalition would “not be in good faith”.
“It is up to the ANC at the end of the day; they have three options. Their first option is going with the MK party, which does not seem like it will happen, the second option is us and the EFF which becomes their best option, and the third option is the DA.
“The MK party has also reached out to us but we don’t know what they want to discuss.”
Inkatha Freedom Party Gauteng provincial secretary Alco Ngobese said the IFP would like to form part of the government in Gauteng. The IFP obtained one seat (0.87%).
Ngobese said if the party was given the premier position in the province, it would gladly take it.
“If that is what parties in Gauteng are saying, we would gladly accept it, but the principle is that we want to be part of the government in Gauteng.”
He said there was a possibility of the party supporting the premier candidate of the ANC in Gauteng, but the ANC had not yet approached the IFP in that regard.
“I wont say much until they have approached the IFP to say support our candidate and this is what we are putting on the table. For now I haven’t received any suggestion such as that,” he said.
EFF premier candidate Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the party seeks to to use whatever political influence it has to its favour and was talking to parties with similar interests.
“We are going into coalition with parties that we have a common agenda with and parties that understand that they didn’t win elections, because if you treat people like when you won a majority, it won’t work. It will result in constant instability,” he said.
The EFF saw a close to 2% decrease in its support in last month’s elections from 14.67% in 2019 to 12.92% in the province.
Ndlozi would not divulge which parties the EFF was in communication with. Last week, EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu said the party would not be part of any coalition involving the DA.