The ANC was relegated to the opposition benches in the Gauteng metros of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni on Monday after Julius Malema’s EFF gave its support to the DA’s mayoral candidates.
The shock development between the two opposition parties, which are at the opposite ends of the ideological scale, came despite DA leaders having previously said it could work with anyone but the firebrands in red berets. Their co-operation in Nelson Mandela Bay after the 2016 elections ended in controversy in 2018, with Malema describing the removal of then DA mayor Athol Trollip as “cutting the throat of whiteness”.
It is different this time, according to the DA’s federal council chair, Helen Zille, because there was no prior agreement and the bigger party was surprised at the EFF’s decision to vote for its candidates.
“It was arranged and planned that way in 2016,” she told Business Day. “There were no prior plans, arrangements or discussions this time.
“We cannot dictate to other parties how they should vote. It took us by surprise.”
While the two parties are not in formal coalitions, the DA’s minority governments could face instability and constant threats of being destabilised and even collapsed by demands from the EFF. It would need the EFF to vote for it to pass budgets, something that leaders of the EFF were keen to stress on Monday night.
“Without the EFF, the DA will not be able to govern. Its reputation that ‘where it governs, it governs better’ will be tested by us,” an EFF leader said.
In a shock defeat for the ANC’s Mzwandile Masina, who is perceived to belong to the faction of the party that opposes President Cyril Ramaphosa and is close to members of the EFF, the DA’s caucus leader, Tania Campbell, was elected mayor of Ekurhuleni. Her colleague Raymond Dlamini became speaker, bringing the ANC’s two-decade governance to an end.
Masina had led the city since 2016 after forming a multiparty coalition with smaller opposition parties, including the Patriotic Alliance and the Pan-Africanist Congress.
DA councillor Mpho Phalatse was elected executive mayor of Johannesburg during a marathon inaugural council meeting. She was elected into the hot seat with 144 votes, beating ANC councillor and former Joburg mayor Mpho Moerane, who received 121 votes.
The results were announced at 9.15pm at the Brixton Multipurpose Centre a few hours after another DA councillor, Vasco da Gama, was elected council speaker with 147 votes, trouncing the ANC’s Eunice Mgcina, who received 118 votes.
The DA is almost guaranteed to get the mayorship of Tshwane at Tuesday’s council sitting.
Marathon meeting
In a highly disrupted and marathon meeting in eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC’s Thabani Nyawose was elected as speaker. The session, which started at 10am, was marred by power outages and ended abruptly due to another power failure, and as supporters of the ANC disrupted proceedings.
In an otherwise gloomy day for the ANC, it regained the mayor’s office in Nelson Mandela Bay, where smaller parties helped Eugene Johnson to a one-vote win over the DA’s Nqaba Bhanga.
In a media conference last Tuesday at the EFF’s headquarters in Johannesburg, Malema was adamant the party would not side with the ANC in any part of SA and said it would seek to destabilise the governing party.
Political analyst Sanusha Naidu said there was a danger for the DA that it would be “held hostage” by the EFF. She noted “short-term memory loss” and “amnesia” among political party leaders who flip-flopped in their talks about partnerships.
On Monday, ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service announced it has downgraded two of five regional and local governments in SA: Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay, highlighting the challenges facing the new administrations.
Mmusi Maimane, a former DA leader, said he is concerned about long-term governance.
“The person who must be very concerned is the voter,” he said. “The election of a mayor is easy. The long-term issue is the management of these coalitions. The passing of the municipal budget is a lot harder.
“This is where the DA is going to struggle to get the EFF support, creating instability in governance every day.”
Correction: November 23 2021
Due to an editing error an earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Mxolisi Kaunda was elected as mayor of eThekwini. Business Day regrets the error.
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