The tension between the ANC and EFF stems from the decision by Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza to remove the EFF’s Nkululeko Dunga as member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance and replace him with ANC finance MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi.
(Twitter/EFF)
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Gauteng chairperson Nkululeko Dunga has warned its coalition partner, the ANC, that its support for ActionSA’s motion to remove Ekurhuleni mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana will have a ripple effect in the other municipalities they govern together.
But the ANC in Ekurhuleni says it will not allow the EFF to “put a gun on their heads” and that if backing Ngodwana’s removal results in both parties losing power in the metro “so be it”.
Dunga said there would be a domino effect in the City of Johannesburg, Mogale City and the West Rand district municipality because the collaborative governance arrangements in Ekurhuleni were based on agreements at the other municipalities.
He said the ANC’s willingness to support an ActionSA motion was a “great concern” to the EFF, adding: “If that’s the posture that they have taken, then they should not be in a position to want to reconstitute a government with themselves being involved again. You can’t support ActionSA and at the same time reconstitute a government that would be inclusive of you thereafter.”
Last week the Ekurhuleni council descended into chaos as EFF and ANC members began pushing each other and throwing bottles around during a meeting scheduled to debate a motion of no confidence brought by ActionSA against Ngodwana.
Tensions have been rising in the metro for a long time, with the ANC accusing the EFF of using bullying tactics and running Ekurhuleni as if it did not have coalition partners.
In 2021, a coalition led by the Democratic Alliance (DA) took charge of the municipality after local government elections, but in 2022 the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance (PA) and other smaller parties agreed on a coalition, which saw them take over hung municipalities in Gauteng. The exception was the City of Tshwane, where the parties did not have the numbers to remove a coalition led by the DA and ActionSA.
The parties agreed that the ANC would take powerful positions such as finance MMC in the City of Johannesburg and the EFF would take the finance MMC portfolio in Ekurhuleni, headed by Dunga, while the smaller parties would get positions such as mayor, speaker and mayoral committee seats. In total, ANC and the EFF each took control of five service delivery portfolios in the metros.
Dunga said if the ANC did not have confidence in Ngodwana, its members should have resigned as whip of the council, oversight chairperson and members of the mayoral committee (MMC). He accused the ANC of wanting to take credit for work done in Ekurhuleni, with minimum input.
“Now they are moving in the position of wanting to be mayor or nothing at the expense of potentially collapse of the people’s government that is functioning for the interest of the people,” Dunga said.
“They are informed by prospects of electioneering and they would want to assume a posture in society of leadership that they are not entitled to. In Johannesburg, because the ANC holds strategic authority particularly when it comes to the department of finance, there’s been a coil down by ANC structures on being aggrieved.”
Dunga accused the ANC of acting like an opposition party in the metro, given its attacks on the city’s leadership and its water and energy departments.
At a media briefing on Tuesday, ANC coordinator Jongizizwe Dlabathi said the party had been driven to take action by the collapse of service delivery under the council, and that it would firmly express its view because the issues with the EFF were about governance, and service delivery, which affected residents.
“We are raising issues of Ekurhuleni and we believe that a change is required to make sure that we live up to the expectations of the people,” he said.
“We are not going to be told that if you do this, this is what is going to happen. Literally, we are living under threat and someone is putting a gun on us. We are the ANC and we represent the majority. The EFF doesn’t have any wards in the City of Ekurhuleni, so we can’t be told by them that if you move this is what is going to happen.
“We have resolved that we are prepared for the worst if it means staying in opposition and exercising oversight, so be it. We have done it in any case. What we are not going to do is to stay for the sake of staying,” he added.
Addressing the support of ActionSA’s motion to remove the mayor, Dlabathi said: “We have not expressed ourselves in public that we are supporting ActionSA. We put our own proposed amendments in the motion that was before the council. There was a disruption and that motion was not seen to its logical conclusion.
“We must also not be opportunistic and unfair. This city was led by the DA for almost 16 months. The DA could not have led this city if it was enabled by the EFF. The EFF voted with the DA to elect a DA mayor in the city.”
Dlabathi added that the strategy of allowing councillors from smaller parties to be mayors should be reconsidered.
“It makes no sense to have a mayor that has three PR [proportional representation] seats to lead. It makes no logical sense for that party to preside over the position of the executive mayor. You are simply subverting democracy,” Dlabathi said.
“The party that has more votes is the ANC, followed by the DA, followed by PA, so you can’t subvert democracy and say a party that has three PR seats must lead the city. It is wrong and it should form part of the lessons learnt moving forward.”