By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
DA federal council chair Helen Zille lambasted ActionSA for claiming her party asked the political start-up to reach out to the EFF to keep the DA-led coalition running the Ekurhuleni metro.
Zille said the Ekurhuleni metro, is just like Tshwane and Johannesburg, they fell under DA-led coalitions after the municipal election on November 1. While no political party won enough votes to govern the metros outright, the EFF surprisingly voted with the DA to install DA mayors in the metros in a move they said was aimed at keeping the ANC out of the three crucial cities.
The City of Ekurhuleni, which has a population of about 4-million, is situated in the manufacturing hub of Gauteng, the country’s economic powerhouse, to which it contributes nearly 20% to its GDP. In May 2021, the municipality unveiled a budget of R46.75bn for the 2021/2022 financial year.
The DA has 65 seats, ActionSA 15, Freedom Front Plus 8, ACDP 2, IFP 3, while Cope has a single seat.
The coalition needs at least 113 seats in Ekurhuleni’s council to meet the 50-plus voting requirements.
Sadly, one of our coalition partners has presented an entirely distorted view on the EFF in the public domain.
These are the facts:https://t.co/L3ygGeLoUY— Helen Zille (@helenzille) February 7, 2022
In a statement on Monday, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba warned that the coalition arrangement running the Ekurhuleni metro could be short-lived as some partners were apparently more committed than others to make it last long enough to survive an “imminent” motion of no confidence by the ANC, or to pass a budget.
He said it was difficult for ActionSA to enter the coalition because a multiparty coalition government could only survive with the support of either the ANC or the EFF.
A proposal emanating from the EFF was brought to the coalition. It is important to note that the proposal arose after the DA had requested ‘to speak to Herman [Mashaba] about talking to the EFF to see whether they are interested at all in voting for our candidates for committee chairs, and if so, whether they would demand a quid-pro-quo and what it would be’,” said Mashaba.
The proposal received from the EFF offered to bring their 81 councillors to support the coalitions in the three metros of Gauteng for which they sought committee chair positions in the legislatures. The proposal did not involve being in the executive, and it did not involve becoming formal coalition partners given the widely divergent policy agendas between the parties . The … proposal was declined by parties in the multiparty coalition without a counter-offer or, for that matter, even a response.”
Failing to consider the EFF’s proposal “will seal the fate of the coalition in Ekurhuleni” because “the mathematical fact is that the support of the EFF is the only viable option for the Ekurhuleni coalition government to survive what is likely to be an ANC-sponsored motion of no confidence within the next month or two. It is also the only way that a sufficient majority could be obtained to approve a budget and the service delivery plans of the city in May in the unlikely event that the coalition lasts until then,” said Mashaba.
Zille said remarks made by ActionSA were disingenuous. She said the EFF elected to vote with the ANC and managed to get five portfolio committee chair positions in Ekurhuleni.