The ANC in Gauteng will be afforded a last chance to convince its national leadership to give it a thumbs up to enter into a coalition which would unseat the DA in the City of Tshwane.
TimesLIVE Premium understands that Gauteng secretary TK Nciza and chair Panyaza Lesufi were sent back to the drawing board when they presented their case to the national working committee (NWC) on why the party should enter into a coalition with ActionSA to unseat the DA in the city.
According to two insiders with knowledge of the events, the province’s ambitions for the capital city hinge on whether it will be able to convince the secretary-general’s office that the city is financially stable for the ANC to take over.
The insiders said while the provincial leaders made a compelling argument during an NWC meeting that it would benefit the ANC and its constituents for the party to take back the city from its government of national unity (GNU) partners, they were unable to answer questions about whether the city was financially stable.
The ANC has already tabled a motion of no confidence against Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink, which is expected to be debated next Thursday. The city council is led by the DA in a coalition that includes the IFP, ACDP, FF+, Defenders of the People and ActionSA. Brink would need ActionSA to maintain his position.
The insiders said the DA had met ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula in the hope of clinching a deal that would ensure it continued to lead the city.
“There is no decision on Tshwane for now. What was decided was the provincial leaders should present to the secretary-general this week. What we want is to understand the finances of the municipality.
“What we must guard against is rushing to control municipalities and metros when some of them are bankrupt.”
Another insider said there was apprehension on the part of national leaders to approve a takeover in Tshwane as the ANC looked towards the 2026 local government elections.
“The problem is that 18 months down the line the voters will want us to account for what we have inherited when it’s a shell. Some in the NWC have argued we should rather wait for the elections because when we inherit a shell we have a majority of political parties who suddenly want to support us on the issue of mayors.
“This decision may not be strategic. The mayor’s chain has become about appearances when it should be about form. We must have substance and the only way we can do that is to make proper assessments,” they said.
The national leader added the provincial leaders had a “serious difficulty” in responding to the matter of the metro’s finances. TimesLIVE Premium understands the Tshwane matter has strained relations between the national and provincial leaders.
One provincial insider said Luthuli House was sidelining them by negotiating with the DA without their input.
Mbalula recently told journalists the ANC would no longer join any coalition that would not serve the party and the interests of the people.
“That is the stance we have taken. We will join any coalition and work with everybody as long as the people of SA will benefit from the point of view of stability. We are tired of mayors changing week in and week out. We will not be part of any arrangement that does not guarantee stability.
“The ANC working with the province and nationally has reflected on these matters and this is overarching in everything we do. We have one year to go to the elections and municipalities must deliver for the people in our constituencies. We control a number of constituencies in Tshwane and everywhere else. As much as we don’t control the executive, our constituencies need to be serviced in terms of a budget that is for the working class and different areas.”
TimesLIVE Premium understands the ANC and DA have been interacting nationally about a deal that would see the two parties sharing power in all three metros.
However, the DA’s biggest headache is the ANC’s provincial leadership, which is said to be against the coalition.
The province butted heads with the DA during the formation of a government of provincial unity, which resulted in a collapse of negotiations.
Acting ANC national spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi said the party has been transparent in discussing possibilities with all political parties represented in affected councils.
“This includes Tshwane. ActionSA, DA, EFF and other political formations are all engaging the ANC on proposals for how best to stabilise Tshwane and improve the performance of the municipality.”
He added that the ANC would get to that agreement with whichever party on the basis of a comprehensive governance framework with specific service delivery outcomes.
ActionSA, which is said to be in the running to secure the mayoral chain should the province get its way, has already announced a divorce from its union with the DA in its Tshwane coalition.
In May, ratings agency Moody’s announced the city had retained its status and upgraded its outlook from negative to stable.
Despite this improvement, Ratings Afrika’s index of municipalities’ financial sustainability for the 2023 fiscal year showed Tshwane had maintained its position as the second-worst performing metro, though it had made improvements.
The auditor-general flagged the city for overstating its employee-related costs by more than R415m, which included close to R2m for salaries of staff who had resigned from the municipality, IOL reported.
The city has been drowning in debt and failing to pay creditors, including Eskom.
Business Day reported the metro received a warning from the JSE that it was on the brink of suspending its debt raising instruments after it failed to provide annual financial statements.
Government entities such as state-owned enterprises and municipalities issue bonds or debt on the JSE to raise money for large projects, such as building roads and other critical infrastructure meant to improve service delivery. Failure to abide by the JSE listing requirements could result in their instruments being suspended, dealing a blow to their reputation in the capital markets, the report said.
Brink said the city had set up a bold plan to turn around its ailing finances by increasing revenue and reducing expenses by R1bn a month.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ANC needed to stabilise local government and deal with political challenges that gave rise to unstable coalitions.
He said a similar process to what the party had done in Johannesburg could be applied in other metros.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.