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Parties call on DA to prevent ‘doomsday scenario’ in Joburg ahead of no confidence motions vote
Steenhuisen indicated there was no multiparty coalition 'with any formal status' after the political parties met last week.
Councillors in the City of Joburg council chambers in Braamfontein on 30 September 2022. Picture: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has been urged by its former coalition partners to reconsider joining forces in order to govern in Johannesburg if the city’s mayor Thapelo Amad is voted out.
With no coalition in the City of Joburg, it remains unclear whether the metro’s mayor will be successfully removed from office.
Amad and Joburg speaker Colleen Makhubele are facing two motions of no confidence each filed by the DA and ActionSA.
The DA is also seeking to have council whip Sithembiso Zungu removed from his position, with the councilors set to vote on the motions on Tuesday.
‘On-the-fly’
ActionSA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) have since called on the DA not pass up on an opportunity to remove the African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leadership from Joburg.
The call comes after DA leader John Steenhuisen informed its former partners that the party would not participate in any coalition that included the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
ALSO READ: Amad is out of his depth as Joburg mayor
Steenhuisen, in a letter, indicated there was no multiparty coalition “with any formal status” after the political parties met last week. He insisted that the discussions “did not constitute negotiations”.
“It has become increasingly apparent that some of our former coalition partners have been negotiating with each other, with a view to reaching agreement on preferred outcomes, before jointly engaging the DA. This approach also inevitably undermines mutual trust,” he said.
“The DA has a consistent position that we do not conduct coalition negotiations on-the-fly or form governments in rushed circumstances before clear coalition agreements are negotiated.”
‘Not convinced’
Steenhuisen said while the DA was willing to consider working with PA, the party would not entertain the idea at this stage.
“The PA has not convinced us that they share our commitment to coalition stability, grounded in shared values — they were clear, direct, and frank about this. This interaction alone convinced us that we do not share the core attributes required for us to consider forming a government.
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“We cannot support or participate in any government that is based on a short-term scramble for positions, dependent on a party that has made clear it is fundamentally opposed to our approach and values.
“The existing ongoing arrangements the PA has with the ANC, confirm that the PA is not willing to position themselves unequivocally outside the ambit of the ANC,” he said.
The Patriotic Alliance last year abandoned the DA-led multiparty coalition which ultimately resulted in the removal of former Joburg mayor, Mpho Phalatse.
‘Doomsday scenario’
But ActionSA, IFP and ACDP says the DA needed to rethink its approach and “do the right thing by the residents of Johannesburg”.
“The DA’s refusal to work with the PA is effectively sending the message that a coalition that includes the PA is worse than the doomsday scenario.
“The work of keeping the ANC and EFF out in 2024, and removing them in Joburg, cannot be exclusive or elitist and it requires link-minded political parties to put aside their differences to fix South Africa,” the parties in a joint-statement.
READ MORE: ‘Cherry picking’: DA and Steenhuisen’s ‘moonshot pact’ rebuffed by UDM, ACDP
“Our parties are mindful of the need to build consensus around a multi-party coalition to unseat the ANC and EFF in 2024 and it is in this spirit that we do not berate the DA.
“We rather urge them to return to the table and reconsider the dire implications of their position. The removal of this ANC and EFF puppet government is no longer a Johannesburg project but rather one with national consequence to the future of our country.”
Steenhuisen earlier this month vowed to prevent ANC and EFF “doomsday coalition” from taking power of the country with South Africa set to go to the polls next year.
He proposed a “moonshot pact” with smaller parties and also declared the EFF as the DA’s ultimate enemy.
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