By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Several political parties in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Municipality signed a coalition agreement to oust the ANC-led alliance governing the metro.
The ACDP, African Independent Congress, Abantu Integrity Movement, DA, Freedom Front Plus, PAC, and UDM agreed to form a coalition government.
Political parties released a joint statement and reads as follows:
“Today’s agreement is the culmination of almost four months of negotiations to form a new government in the metro. Extensive time was spent discussing a shared set of values, principles, commitments, objectives, and priorities that will inform the governance blueprint of the new coalition.
“There is no denying the terrible state of the metro and the urgent need for a change in government to improve basic service delivery for the residents. The current water crisis and the poor leadership surrounding the crisis have been a persistent threat to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay who still face the imminent possibility of dry taps across almost half of the metro. This crisis and others demand strong political leadership to steer the municipality away from disaster and towards prosperity.”
“The impasse surrounding the legality of the City Manager has eroded the stability and functionality of the municipality’s administrative arm. Service delivery simply cannot materialise without strong institutions to implement the ideas of political leadership. These two burning issues, among many others, are key priorities of this multi-party coalition which seeks to restore stability, root out corruption and improve service delivery.”
“We stand ready to take the lead and rebuild what has been broken down. Navigating these negotiations was certainly not easy for any party, and took a lot of time, effort, and dedication from all players to finally find ourselves and to bring us here today. The negotiations had to start off with an understanding and consensus around a common set of values, principles, commitments, objectives, and priorities, as carefully laid out in the coalition agreement.”
“Coalitions in South Africa are never easy, and while the concept is not new to South Africa, it is certainly important for all of us to learn the lessons from past attempts so we can apply better measures for future coalitions. It is a fact that the future of South Africa, especially after 2024, will be dominated by coalitions. Nelson Mandela Bay can join the many other governments across the country that are living proof that coalitions work when there is dedication by all players to make them work.
The next step in this project will be the tabling of a motion of no confidence (MONC) in the current government. This multi-party coalition remains confident that the MONC will succeed so that a turnaround in the metro can be realised. This will also enable the new multi-party coalition to enter government and present their governance plan to the residents of the municipality on the most critical service delivery issues at the centre of their heart. The new multi-party coalition are united in our quest to fix what has been broken and restore hope that has been lost. Let this be a turning point for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro where a capable coalition government can rebuild the municipality and set it on a new path towards a better future for all of the residents.
DA leader John Steenhuisen told journalists at a press conference on Thursday that differences should be put aside to improve services. Steenhuisen also believes coalition governments are South Africa’s future.
“Can we fix it? Yes we can,” Steenhuisen told journalists.
Bhisho MPL Retief Odendaal has emerged as the party’s mayoral candidate.
This would be the second coalition government in the metro following the 2021 local government elections, when the ANC formed a coalition with several smaller parties.
In 2021, Eugene Johnson was elected as the mayor of the metro – by a one-vote margin – over DA Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga who is now in the Eastern Cape legislature.