Gauteng ANC says it’s ready for by-election in Tshwane

The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng says it’s ready for the by-election in Tshwane, following the provincial government’s decision to place the Metro under administration.

Invoking Section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said fresh elections for a new council would take place within 90 days.

He dissolved the municipal council on Thursday, citing political instability in the City which has led to continuous failure to pass budgets, elect a mayor, supply water and pay its creditors, among others.

The decision comes after three months of political battles over the control of the city with the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) failing in their bids to unseat the Democratic Alliance (DA) with a motion of no confidence.

SABC Natasha Phiri reports on the implications of dissolving the municipal council…

‘Decisive victory’

ANC provincial head of the election, Lebohang Maile, says they are gearing up for a decisive victory.

“People’s confidence has grown on the ANC because they’ve seen that the ANC has got their best interest at heart and they’ve also seen that the DA-led municipality does not have their interest and it has failed dismally to provide quality services to them. We’ll be going back to them with the story that when we were governing in Tshwane things were much better and when DA governed things became worse and therefore we urge them to give us another chance.”

Responding to a question about the divisions that led to violent protests in the region in 2016, after the party’s NEC chose Thoko Didiza over then-rival leaders Kgosientso Ramokgopa and Mapiti Matsena, Maile says that they’ve learned from their mistakes.

“That is not going to happen as you know ANC is a very progressive, dynamic and learning organisation. And because we are a democratic organisation, we will also engage in process of making sure our branches contribute to how best do we reposition ourselves and what kind of strategy do we put in place.”

Maile would not be drawn to commenting about who the party will be fielding as a mayoral candidate.

“At this point, we are not talking about who is our candidate. We are casting our eyes and focused on victory and once we win because this is not about positions, it is not about status it’s about restoring stability. It’s about restoring the dignity of our people and making sure that we provide quality service delivery.”

Tshwane ANC regional chairperson, Kgosi Maepa, had welcomed the move. “We don’t want a coalition government, we want a decisive victory because the ANC is the only party in this country with a plan.”

Political Analyst Dr Somadoda Fikeni believes that the party is in a relatively good position to go into elections.

“This time around the province has a relatively stable leadership and the Tshwane region has a relatively stable leadership and they do not seem to be in a hurry to go into the mayoral position or they are even open to the possibility of waiting until 2021. So to that extent, you don’t see the same pressure and also they’ve tasted being in opposition so their stakes are not as high as when they didn’t know how to process the notion of being out of power.”