Johannesburg – The DA is set to hold a federal executive meeting on Sunday to make a final decision on its possible coalition partners in the 66 hung municipalities in the country.
The meeting is expected to be attended by DA federal council head Helen Zille, party leader John Steenhuisen and federal chairperson Ivan Meyer who have been tasked to negotiate deals with partners. It is expected to be held at the party headquarters in Bruma, Joburg.
Insiders said leaders in the different municipalities, including the big metros of Joburg, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung in the Free State, would get a directive from them about partnerships in their respective councils.
On Thursday, however, Steenhuisen, ruled out any coalition with the ANC, saying it was responsible for service delivery problems in Joburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane. While Steenhuisen has ruled out the ANC, other party members, according to insiders, were also not in favour of ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, former DA mayor in Joburg in 2016 until October 2019.
Like the DA, Mashaba has also ruled out a possibility of a coalition with the ANC after his party secured 44 seats in Joburg. Both DA and ANC in the three metros were hoping to get the support of smaller parties to gain a majority in the three metros.
However, the EFF, which is the third biggest party in Gauteng, has set stringent conditions to enter into any coalition government negotiations. One of the conditions was that its partners must agree to land expropriation without compensation, which the DA has already ruled out.
The ANC has yet to react to EFF’s conditions. The ANC is also meeting on Sunday, to finalise deals on coalition partners.
baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za
Political Bureau