Is Mbalula being stupid over EFF?

Rob Hersov once described Fikile Mbalula as a stupid person whom “no-one would hire in the business they own”.

Hersov may have inherited more money than brains, but his assessment of Mbalula is worth bearing in mind after the ANC secretary-general’s weekend comments.

Mbalula told an ANC Youth League gathering that the ANC should withdraw from cooperation arrangements with the EFF in metros. He singled out Johannesburg. Mbalula said that after the 2024 national elections, the ANC should “rather go with the DA, fully aware that here’s the enemy”.

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Some analysts, including Stephen Grootes, think this is a clever move by Mbalula deliberately to weaken the “moonshot pact” announced by DA leader John Steenhuisen to prevent an ANC/EFF “doomsday” coalition.

Any suggestion of toenadering between the ANC and the DA provokes yapping from the DA’s would-be moonshot partners. Indeed, it would seem not to make sense for a party such as the DA to campaign against the ANC while, at the same time, quietly planning to work with the ANC after elections.

Yet contradictions are more common, in and out of politics, that purists care to admit. The capacity to entertain contradictory thoughts without experiencing cognitive dissonance was well expressed by 19th-century American poet and journalist, Walt Whitman: “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large; I contain multitudes.”

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Mbalula’s stance on the EFF has again exposed fractures in the ANC. Remember, deputy ANC president Paul Mashatile was publicly thanked for being instrumental in the downfall of the DA coalition in Johannesburg, with the help of the EFF.

He and Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi have ushered in a succession of Mickey Mouse mayors and a speaker with 0.22% of the vote, to control South Africa’s richest city, with the help of the EFF. Mashatile and Lesufi opened the door for the EFF. Mbalula wants to close that door. Is he being stupid?

Earlier this year, the ANC Joburg caucus walked out of council rather than support a minority mayor. Lesufi persuaded them to return the following day, but resentment lingers.

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In Ekurhuleni, the ANC caucus leader is on record as saying there is “no strategic value” in partnering with the EFF. Mbalula’s weekend message will have been well received in Joburg and Ekurhuleni ANC caucuses. Within the governing party, Mbalula, stupid or not, ranks higher than Lesufi.

The relative strength of ANC factions will be reflected by what happens in Joburg. Animosity persists between EFF leader Julius Malema and ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa who, 10 years ago, chaired the disciplinary appeals committee that upheld the former ANC Youth League leader’s expulsion.

If the EFF continues to co-govern Joburg and Ekurhuleni with the ANC, the Mashatile/Lesufi faction is strengthened. If EFF MMCs are ejected, Ramaphosa and Mbalula call the shots. Service delivery in Joburg has suffered because of instability, corruption and incompetence.

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There is zero leadership from our latest mayor, who has been missing in action during the water and electricity crises. Deterioration is visible on almost every street.

There is only one South African party with a proven, ongoing ability to fix these things. The smart choice is obvious.