Jostling over governance in the Cape Town metro continued on Friday with no apparent solution imminent.
The Democratic Alliance’s tenuous hold on power in the city is being threatened by the Independent Democrats’ determination to pursue its quest for changing the executive mayor system to an executive committee system.
Should an ID motion to this effect get through council, it would substantially weaken the DA’s grip on the city.
The ID has the support of the African National Congress, but will also need additional support from smaller parties to ensure the adoption of a motion it intends putting before the council.
The DA has 90 seats on the 210-seat council, the ANC 81 and the ID 23. The rest is split between smaller parties, all bar one currently backing the DA.
Confirming to the South African Press Association on Friday that the ANC will support the ID motion, ANC Western Cape chairperson James Ngculu said the DA should stick to its election manifesto, which clearly called for an executive committee to run the city.
Now that the DA has ”tasted power” it is being ”dishonourable” and reneging on its election promise to institute an executive committee system.
While the ANC is steadfast in its preference for the executive mayor system, it will nevertheless support the ID motion, because that party is correct in trying to implement what it promised in its own election manifesto — an executive committee system, Ngculu said.
However, the DA has called on the ID and ANC to cease their ”mindless and destructive” activities and commit themselves to taking Cape Town forward.
”The people of Cape Town want stability and delivery. They do not want the city government to be destabilised,” DA negotiations spokesperson Ryan Coetzee said.
”Now that Western Cape MEC [provincial minister] for local government [Richard Dyanti] has made it clear that he will not entertain a change from the mayoral committee system to the executive committee system, there is no point in the ID or the ANC pursuing a change of system in order to bring the city government down,” he said.
On Thursday, Dyanti said there is no reason to change the executive mayor system.
Coetzee said as each day passes, Capetonians become increasingly angry at what they see as a mindless and destructive attempt to undermine stability and delivery in their city.
”Even the most self-destructive party must surely recognise when the time comes to stop digging itself into a hole.
”All political parties in Cape Town need now to commit themselves to taking the city forward, whether it be as part of government or as part of the opposition,” Coetzee said.
ID leader Patricia de Lille told a media briefing on Thursday the ID would focus on changing the executive mayor system.
De Lille repeated the ID would not support a motion of no confidence against DA mayor Helen Zille, declining to explain why.
But she conceded that changing the government system would similarly result in the crumbling of the DA-led city government — ”an unfortunate consequence”.
The executive committee system, based on proportional representation, would see only the ID, DA and ANC represented, with no room for the smaller parties that had coalesced around the DA to ensure it won the mayoralty. — Sapa