Growing signs indicate that local government elections are being planned for the week before the March 6 constitutional deadline.
No date has been given, and there has been speculation that failure to resolve the demarcation lines for cross-border municipalities could delay voting.
But chief government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe insisted this week that the deadline would be met, while other government officials suggested that the most recent parliamentary programme clearly pointed to plans for elections in the first week of March.
President Thabo Mbeki delivers his State of the Nation address at the opening of Parliament on February 3, and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is to give his Budget speech on February 15, a week earlier than usual.
The latest parliamentary programme shows only “plenaries” after that, but officials said there was likely to be a week’s recess after the budget debate to allow MPs to head out on the campaign trail. They could then return to deal with the Division of Revenue Bill, which must be passed by March 31.
Netshitenzhe said that a date could not be announced until the demarcation question was resolved, but insisted preparations were in hand.
Singling out unrest in Khutsong, on the Gauteng-North West border, Netshitenzhe warned that violent protests over demarcation would be counter-productive. The government did not want to create a perverse incentive for violence, or set a precedent by yielding to the protesters’ demands.
“Government will continue to interact with affected communities; and we do recognise the right of citizens strongly to state their views. However … law-enforcement agencies have been instructed to ensure that the state’s commitment to democracy and a humane society is not taken advantage of to burn, loot and pillage.”