ANC flag. Picture: Michel Bega
There is much talk at the moment about the ANC being given a bloody nose in the upcoming elections and not being able to reach the voting majority it has enjoyed uninterrupted for 30 years.
While some of that may be wishful thinking on the part of the opposition, it seems certain that the horse-trading of coalitions will have to take place in all tiers of government once the voting is over.
The track record of coalitions has been dismal.
Coalitions have accelerated, rather than slowed, the collapse of municipal service delivery particularly and they have led to spectacles like the vacuous Kabelo Gwamanda – from a tiny party – being elevated to the position of executive mayor of Johannesburg… with a large salary and, more recently, a blue-light protection squad that would be the envy of many a banana republic.
It seems, then, that ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba’s attempt to put together a coalition to win back Joburg has merit.
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He says he already has the Patriotic Front (PA) of Gayton McKenzie on board and now only needs the Democratic Alliance (DA) to lend its considerable muscle to finally boot the ANC and its fellow travellers out of their controlling position in the council.
The DA, however, has already made it plain it will not work with McKenzie, despite the fact the PA maintains it is not aligned with the ANC.
McKenzie speaks for a sector that feels it has been wounded by the politics and service non-delivery of the ANC, so there should be common ground there… and perhaps each side can overcome its distaste for the other and work together.
The DA also does not easily forgive deserters like Mashaba, who, for all his faults, ran a decent operation when he was DA mayor of the city.
We hope all those concerned don’t let this opportunity slip by.
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