The African National Congress (ANC) and the Independent Democrats (ID) are keeping mum on an apparent deal that has been struck with a third smaller party for control of the Cape Town metropolitan council, according to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
The report on Monday said this would put the ANC — which snatched the majority on the council during floor crossings in 2002 — in power again. A vote for the mayor and speaker of the council will take place on Wednesday morning.
The SABC reported that it had been reliably informed that such a deal would be finalised on Monday. At the weekend ID leader Patricia de Lille continued to deny that she would form coalitions with either the Democratic Alliance (DA) which won 41,85% of the vote or 90 seats out of 210 — or with the ANC which won 37,9% or 81 seats.
De Lille’s party won 23 seats or 10,75% in the March 1 local government poll in Cape Town while the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) won seven seats or 3,2%. The remainder of the nine seats are held by six other political parties — including three for the African Muslim Party and two for the United Democratic Movement (UDM), one each for the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, one for the United Independent Front and one for the Universal Party.
Meanwhile, DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille has resigned as Member of Parliament. Zille explained her position and said, “According to the Constitution, you cannot be a member of Parliament and a councillor at the same time.
“When the point came that the transition had to be made, then obviously because I had stood as the DA’s mayoral candidate, I couldn’t walk away from the table at that point. And so I opted to become a councillor and resign my seat in Parliament. The major vote is on Wednesday for the mayoralty, and if I lose that — because I stood as the mayoral candidate — I’ll have to reconsider my options.”
Zille said at the weekend that she was ready to lead the government in Cape Town “and to relegate to history the ANC’s legacy of secrecy, corruption, non-delivery and centralisation”.
“The voters of Cape Town rejected the ANC government with 62% voting against the ANC.
“We have invited other parties in the council to join us in creating a new city. They now have to choose — either they become part of a new, open, democratic, corruption-free Cape Town or they can become part of another five years of ANC corruption, secrecy and non-delivery,” she said.
She noted that the DA would propose the setting up of a standing committee on public accounts where the public would be able to judge whether tenders were being awarded on a fair basis “or to council friends”.
Zille said she would deal with the nepotism and bloated expenditure in the executive suites “and turn the misspend money towards employing people at the city’s workface”- – policemen, engineers, firemen, librarians, nurses and health inspectors.
Business Day reported on Monday that ANC provincial chairperson James Ngculu agreed that progress had been made in negotiations over a multi-party executive but said that no agreement had been reached on a new executive committee.
However, it is understood that the ANC did not wish that Zille should become mayor, while the DA is insisting that outgoing ANC mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo should also not lead a new council team. – I-Net Bridge