The Democratic Alliance-led coalition in the Cape Town city council has approached the Independent Democrats (ID) to join them, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Wednesday.
Cape Town ID caucus leader Simon Grindrod told the broadcaster that a proposal had been forwarded to the party’s leaders.
”We will consider the proposal put to us but we have to obviously consult our structures,” he said.
The African Muslim Party (AMP) is no longer part of the of city’s government after one of its members, with the approval of his party leadership, was found to have engaged in ”secret talks” with the African National Congress (ANC), mayor Helen Zille said.
The AMP has three seats on the council, which means that should it join a coalition with the ANC and the ID, it will outnumber the remainder of the DA-led coalition.
The DA’s coalition now has 103 seats, while the ANC, ID and AMP together have 106 seats. The Pan African Congress has one seat on the 210-member council.
Zille said the AMP had been engaging in moves to overthrow the DA-led multiparty coalition since the beginning of the festive season.
”During the December recess it came to my attention that AMP councillor Badih Chaaban had been making overtures to the ANC and some other parties to form a coalition with the AMP to oust the current multiparty government from office,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to Zille, Chaaban had demanded that councillors from the city’s coalition parties support him in his bid to become deputy mayor, threatening that his party would pull out of the coalition should he not get the necessary support.
Although Zille said the DA was not at the meeting where Chaaban is said to have made the demand, she said it was later conveyed to her.
”I made it clear that the DA would, under no circumstances, accept Chaaban as deputy mayor, a view endorsed by the DA leadership and the other parties in our multiparty government,” she said.
Because it was clear Chaaban’s discussion with the ANC and other parties was endorsed by the AMP leadership, the multiparty government has resolved to relieve the party of its role in the coalition government.
”We will not be blackmailed to stay in power,” she said. — Sapa