Senior Western Cape ANC leader Max Ozinsky has confirmed that ANC moves to rejig the Cape Town council — with the effect of neutralising DA mayor Helen Zille — were decided in consultation with the ANC’s national top brass.
This gives weight to Zille’s repeated assertion that the move follows top-level discussions during President Thabo Mbeki’s recent four-day meeting with ANC leaders in the Western Cape. But the ANC insists the push to replace the current executive mayor system with a multiparty mayoral committee, with the ANC holding the most seats, is not a crude power-grab. It maintains that the current set-up sidelines the interests of the poor and unemployed black and coloured communities.
ANC deputy secretary Ozinsky confirmed that Western Cape local government minister Richard Dyantyi’s move to change the mayoral system was decided “in consultation with the ANC leadership”, but denied it was discussed with Mbeki. “There is no conspiracy; there was no instruction from Mbeki. A report was given to Mbeki dealing with Western Cape issues, but Dyantyi wasn’t told to use his position to oust Zille from her job,” he said.
Ozinsky said Zille’s administration was entrenching race discrimination in the city’s sub-councils by grouping African, coloured and white wards, claiming this was a return to the former Group Areas Act. “It means resources will be spent as they were under apartheid; black wards are discriminated against because they’re much bigger.”
He also said Zille had abandoned preferential procurement and scrapped affirmative action in council appointments. “The effects of that will seep through to black business because they will not get contracts,” he said. “We’re not trying to get rid of the DA or Zille. The new system will force consensus building in Cape Town — we can’t afford to marginalise the African population again.”
After weeks of speculation, Dyantyi sent a notice to Zille on Tuesday telling her that he is “considering amending the type of municipality”.
The intention is power sharing between the three biggest parties in the Western Cape: the DA, the ANC and the Independent Democrats. With ID support, the ANC would regain control of the city it lost in the May municipal election.
The DA has vowed to fight the initiative by, if necessary, approaching the Constitutional Court. It objects that the executive mayor system Dyantyi intends changing is in force in all ANC-controlled municipalities elsewhere in the country, that the ANC is not planning to modify the 28 other Western Cape councils that have an executive mayor, and that it installed an executive mayor when it ran Cape Town.
At present, Zille makes executive decisions and appoints the 10 members of the mayoral committee. Dyantyi’s proposal would reduce her to a ceremonial official.
“I have no doubt that the ANC discussed this strategy while the president was in town,” said Zille at a press conference. “The week after Mbeki’s visit to the Cape, I started hearing rumours that the DA’s days in council are numbered.”
ANC presidency spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama vehemently denied that Zille’s name “even came up or was discussed” during Mbeki’s Western Cape visit. “Why would she be mentioned? This was a meeting about the ANC’s future and ANC unity,” he said.
A furious Zille complained that Dyantyi’s move “is a complete waste of time and money. The ANC is scared to see the coalition government working well. They are worried that voters elsewhere in South Africa will see Cape Town being successful and will realise they can vote for somebody else. That’s why they’re fighting us so hard. They simply can’t stand not being in power.”
She argued that the ANC was also worried about the outcome of a forensic audit into R8,5million of fraudulent deals and “jobs for pals” in Cape Town under former ANC rule. “The ANC is failing the democratic key test by refusing to accept an opposition role,” she said.
Dyantyi said that he was acting on the electorate’s instructions. “Cape Town voters showed us there is no clear winner in this province and in this city. My proposal will represent their wishes much better than the current system.”
University of the Western Cape law professor Pierre de Vos said discovering what had propelled Dyantyi on this course of action was key. “He can’t just make arbitrary decisions. If they are shown to be capricious, to involve naked preference or be in bad faith, the Constitutional Court will rule against him.”