”Does Thabo Mbeki want to be president for a third time? Does he?” shouted a furious Esther Lunga, a member of the crowd that gathered outside the Johannesburg High Court on Monday in solidarity with Jacob Zuma as his rape trial began. ”Well tell him we are sick of him, tell him that! Tell him we still believe JZ will be president!”
The next five years will be make-or-break for local government. National ministries are being re-examined, the future of provinces hang in the balance, and the structure of municipalities are to be revamped as President Thabo Mbeki seeks a stronger hand over the huge delivery backlogs threatening his legacy.
The Inkatha Freedom Party’s decline was set to continue in KwaZulu-Natal as the African National Congress had gained considerable ground in IFP strongholds by the end of Thursday. At the time of going to press the ANC had 43% of the vote and the IFP was at 45%.
The African National Congress appeared to have substantially increased its majority in the local government poll, while the Democratic Alliance, hit by voting for other opposition parties, had not done as well as as it hoped. These appear to be the major trends of Wednesday’s voting for South Africa’s 284 municipalities.
No image available
/ 27 February 2006
The local elections are do-or-die for the Inkatha Freedom Party in KwaZulu-Natal, which has haemorrhaged 38 municipal councillors to the fledgling National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) in the past two months. However, analysts say Nadeco lacks the political machinery and ideological direction to pose a serious electoral threat in the province at this stage.
No image available
/ 24 February 2006
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/262374/vote-box_blue.gif" align=left>The African National Congress is fighting its toughest election yet. The ruling party’s monolithic hold on power is showing distinct cracks, as strongholds have splintered from Khutsong in Gauteng, where residents have staged running battles with authorities, to Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, where a feisty group of independents has challenged for power and Matatiele in KwaZulu-Natal where the former ANC mayor has formed a breakaway party.
No image available
/ 17 February 2006
The ANC in Kokstad’s Matatiele municipality has splintered over the government’s handling of the cross-border dispute in the area.
No image available
/ 16 February 2006
The removal of the social security grant function from provinces will allow the national government to shift its priority away from social assistance towards welfare services, which it says has been neglected over the past five years as social grants consumed as much as 92% of the provincial equitable share.
No image available
/ 10 February 2006
The Congress of South African Trade Unions supports the government’s Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (Asgi), in principle — but says it will not succeed if it does not tackle poverty and inequality more forthrightly. The clumsily named strategy, unveiled this week, is the government’s blueprint for achieving 6% growth.
No image available
/ 10 February 2006
President Thabo Mbeki’s to-do list as he goes into the final years of his presidency.