Minority government in Gauteng on shaky ground as ANC moves away from EFF

When announcing his cabinet last week, the ANC Gauteng chair, Premier Panyaza Lesufi, said he would work with all political parties, even those that are not part of the Provincial Government of Unity (PGU). This means that while the ANC is officially in a minority government with the PA, Rise Mzansi and IFP, it would still work with other parties on a case-by-case basis. 

However, this might prove tricky, seeing that the party’s relationship with the EFF took a turn for the worse this week. 

The ANC took a stance in October to sever ties with the EFF, which its Gauteng leadership has ignored. However, it can no longer ignore the decision as Lesufi was unable to formally announce a partnership with the EFF following protracted negotiations after the 29 May elections. This is despite its decision not to work with the DA.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Premier Panyaza Lesufi appoints a minority Gauteng cabinet without the DA

The DA has categorically stated that it will not work with the EFF in any kind of governance arrangement. The Red Berets have also expressed their disdain for the DA and refused to work with the party to form the Government of National Unity (GNU). 

Things fall apart…

There have been multiple signs that the ANC is moving away from the EFF in Gauteng and towards the DA.

The EFF’s key demand during the PGU negotiations was to have its Gauteng leader, Nkululeko Dunga, reinstated as the MMC of finance in the City of Ekurhuleni, but the ANC put Jongisizwe Nhlabathi in the position.

The ANC axed Dunga as finance MMC in June. The party had been at loggerheads with the EFF in Ekurhuleni, although the mayor, Doctor Xhakaza, said the decision was taken to fast-track the completion and approval of the annual budget.

This week, the City of Johannesburg council descended into chaos after EFF members, who are in a coalition with the ANC in the city, rejected taking a R2.5-billion loan from a French government entity, the Agence Française de Développement. This was in retaliation for Dunga’s axing, said the ANC’s Johannesburg region.

It has been reported that EFF MMCs in Johannesburg are likely to be booted out following this incident as the ANC and DA continue to strengthen ties.

This decision will be endorsed by the ANC’s Johannesburg region, which also wants to use this opportunity to remove the city’s mayor, Al Jama-ah’s Kabelo Gwamanda and replace him with Finance MMC Dada Morero.

Read more in Daily Maverick: The difference between rhetoric and reality in Joburg mayor Gwamanda’s promises

Morero, from the ANC, has long been touted for the position but was stifled by the coalition in the city. Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad was initially installed as a compromise mayor in January 2023 after the ANC and EFF took over the city and both wanted a candidate from their party to be mayor.

After Amad was removed, Gwamanda was voted in, again as a compromise by the EFF-ANC coalition.

In the KwaZulu-Natal City of eThekwini, the ANC’s Cyril Xaba was voted in as the mayor this week with the help of the DA, a move which had been in the pipeline since the two parties reached a GNU deal. This pushed the EFF further to the periphery.

Daily Maverick previously reported that the alliance between the ANC and DA would be extended to other KZN municipalities including the hung councils of Msunduzi and KwaDukuza.

Future of Gauteng legislature – unsteady

The EFF could make life difficult for the PGU if Lesufi does not convince the DA to vote with the ANC on certain matters in the legislature.

The PGU will need a majority to pass its budget, which would require either the EFF or DA to work with the ANC.

However, after initially agreeing to work together, the DA had a public spat with the ANC provincial leadership after failing to seal the PGU deal. This led Refiloe Nt’sekhe to step down as deputy speaker in the legislature.

Lesufi has however reiterated that the ANC is willing to continue talks with the DA despite failing to reach an agreement. He went as far as pleading that Nt’sekhe not step down from her position because of the discord between the two parties.

Gauteng’s legislature consists of the ANC with 28 seats, the DA (22 seats), the EFF (11 seats), uMkhonto Wesizwe (eight), ActionSA (three), Freedom Front Plus (two) and Build One SA, Rise Mzansi and the African Christian Democratic Party (one each).  

Working with the uMkhonto Wesizwe party has been off the cards for the ANC because it demanded President Cyril Ramaphosa’s removal as a condition for cooperation. DM