KwaDukuza municipality’s (KDM) proposed historic vote of no confidence remains on a knife-edge, with opposition parties blaming each other for the current stalemate.
After a first vote was withdrawn because of an incorrect submission process last month, the item returns to KDM council’s monthly general meeting on Thursday, July 28.
For the vote to pass, a potential coalition would need 30 votes, meaning every vote from non-ANC councillors in KDM to reach a majority in the 59-seat council.
This move has prompted weeks of coalitions talks between the opposition parties – the Democratic Alliance (DA, 9 seats), ActionSA (5 seats), Independent Alliance (IA, 5 seats), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP, 4 seats), African
Christian Democratic Party (ACDP, 1 seat), African Independent Congress (AIC, 1 seat) and African Transformation Movement (ATM, 1 seat).
The remaining four seats held by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are one of the main points of disagreement in the talks so far.
“We are not willing to negotiate agreements with the EFF, formally or informally. That is not a principle we will violate for political expediency. An informal voting agreement opens the door to further agreements down the line and we cannot let that happen. If the EFF choose to vote with the coalition then so be it, but we will not collaborate in any form with them to make that happen,” said DA provincial chairperson, Dean Macpherson.
ActionSA’s position has been that collaboration needs to happen for the vote to pass.
“The DA called for the coalition talks but their coalition only has 26 members when 30 are required for a majority. They required the inclusion of a clause in the agreement that prohibits any coalition partner from engaging to obtain the further four votes. Such a proposal would create instability in council because every decision will effectively become a game of Russian roulette,” said ActionSA national chairperson, Michael Beaumont.
According to EFF provincial command team-member, Thobisile Nkosi, the EFF’s position (at the time of print) was that they would support the vote even if they were not part of the coalition,
There were two further major sticking points in the agreement, in which ActionSA proposed that committees be formed from the coalition to oversee budgetary processes and the appointment of senior managers in KDM.
“These appointments are made in council by councillors and are strategic to the change that must be delivered by a coalition government. Without the support of a majority in council, these appointments cannot be made,” said Beaumont.
Macpherson called the proposed committees “potentially illegal” and likened them to cadre deployment seen in other ANC-led municipalities across the country.
“ActionSA described the appointment of senior managers as a ‘political process’. This is exactly how cadre deployment has been used by the ANC to capture the state,” said Macpherson.
Finally, the DA said they believe passing the vote without proper foresight and planning could lead to disastrous results for KDM.
“We have seen this happen before, where the coalition breaks down after the vote and the municipality is put into provincial administration. In Tshwane, the ANC ate R4.5-billion in just seven months while the provincial administrator was in charge,” said Macpherson.
With less than 24 hours to go before the vote goes ahead, harried talks will no doubt be ongoing as both the DA and ActionSA wait for the other to call each other’s bluff.
At the time of print, ActionSA said all other opposition parties, aside from the DA, were in support of the coalition and vote, although nothing had yet been signed.
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