Johannesburg –The ANC’s plot to regain control of the City of Tshwane is on thin ice after six opposition parties agreed to form a coalition government to be led by the DA.
The opposition parties, comprising the DA, ActionSA, FF Plus, ACDP, UDM and Cope met in Johannesburg on Friday and jointly agreed to vote together for the DA’s mayoral candidate and incumbent mayor Randall Williams.
In their joint statement, the parties said: “This meeting was a follow-up on the meeting held on November 15 between these parties and several bilateral discussions. The discussions were constructive and the parties agreed that in the interest of the future of South Africa it is important to form stable governments which are serious about service delivery and arresting the decay of local government.
“The discussions were mainly focused on Tshwane and Johannesburg Metros. The Johannesburg Metro Council is meeting on Monday, November 22 to constitute the council,” the parties said.
All of them confirmed that Tshwane would be under the control of the opposition parties, saying: “As far as the Tshwane Metro is concerned the parties agreed to form a coalition government and support the mayoral candidate of the DA.
“In Johannesburg the parties will attempt to keep the ANC out and form a minority government. The majority of parties present agreed to support the mayoral candidate of ActionSA. Consensus was thus not yet reached in Johannesburg.”
Independent Media, however, understands that the impasse on the mayoral position in Joburg was due to the DA not wanting ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba to take over as Joburg mayor over their preferred mayoral candidate Mpho Phalatse.
Despite the dispute, the parties issued a watered-down statement saying: “The DA took a principle decision at their Federal Executive that where they secured the majority of votes among opposition parties, they will put forward their mayoral candidate. They will however report the contents of the discussions to their Federal Executive for consideration.
“Further discussions between parties will continue over the weekend to finalise and conclude the way forward,” the statement read.
The political parties also expressed their appreciation to residents of these metros for their patience in the midst of finalising these complex negotiations. The parties also appealed to members of the media to afford them the space required to finalise these discussions and communicate the outcomes of such before councils convene on Monday and Tuesday.
baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za
Political Bureau