ANC set to take mayoral position in Nelson Mandela Bay unity coalition — DA not interested

Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Gary van Niekerk is expected to resign in the coming days as the ANC appears set to lead the municipality under a government of local unity (GLU), which will include smaller parties, but not the DA.

This was confirmed by ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi after a two-day provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting. ANC NEC member and former minister Bathabile Dlamini attended the meeting as part of her deployment to the municipality. 

The ANC is in a coalition in Nelson Mandela Bay with the EFF, Patriotic Alliance, African Independent Congress, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, and the National Alliance and the Defenders of the People, together comprising 65 seats, which it already calls a GLU.

Ngcukayitobi said that at the PEC meeting, they had discussed the state of Nelson Mandela Bay extensively and that they appreciated that the present coalition had been unsuccessful in serving the people. 

“We therefore welcome this moment where all parties in Nelson Mandela Bay wish to work with the ANC,” he told Daily Maverick.

Following the 29 May general elections, which saw the government of national unity take power nationally, the ANC has sought to form GLUs, which began in the Western Cape. The GLU model echoes the principles of the government of national unity, emphasising abiding by the Constitution, unity, inclusivity and social cohesion.

Both the ANC and DA have 48 seats each in the 120-seat Nelson Mandela Bay council, but the ANC says it is the largest party and thus deserves the mayoral chains. This is in line with the resolution by the ANC’s national executive committee, stating that the party should assume control of mayoral positions in hung municipalities where it holds the majority.

ANC regional chair and Deputy Mayor Babalwa Lobishe is rumoured to be the next in line if the ANC gets its way. Party insiders said her name was endorsed by the PEC during the meeting.

Nelson Mandela Bay is facing myriad challenges, including persistent poverty, unemployment and service delivery backlogs. Just last week, Daily Maverick reported that thieves had stolen copper cabling valued at R250,000 from a warehouse with inadequate security.

Read more: Gone in three weekends — thieves lift R250,000 in Nelson Mandela Bay copper cables

Extortion rackets, kidnappings and killings are also on the rise in the municipality. The recently released crime statistics highlighted a significant increase in quarter-on-quarter murders in the Nelson Mandela Bay District.

‘This cannot work’

DA leader in the province and Member of Parliament Andrew Whitfield told Daily Maverick that the DA had not formally met the ANC but had no interest in being part of a GLU. He said a coalition with smaller parties would not work.

“A government of local unity would include most if not all parties in NMB. This cannot work,” he said.

“The only pathway to stability is for the DA and ANC to find a way to work together. Both parties have tried coalitions with all of the smaller parties. They’ve not been sustainable.” 

Despite the DA’s stance, Ngcukayitobi said they would talk to all parties with the single intention of bettering the situation of Nelson Mandela Bay.

“It has never even … once [entered] our minds of working with a single party in isolation of other parties. That cooperation is informed [by] the need to unite people and therefore political parties with a single purpose of being servants.” 

Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Van Niekerk, was unavailable for comment, but was quoted by Herald Live as saying that when the ANC approached him to talk about a coalition reconfiguration, he made it clear he was not married to his position.

“Our initial discussions started with them explaining how they were required to act on a national instruction to take over municipalities where they were in the majority and I respected this with the understanding the aim is also to strengthen governance in the city,” he said. DM