Zukile Majova
Road to 2024: With an outright majority no longer guaranteed in 2024, the ANC holds out an olive branch to their old foes the EFF, Zukile Majova writes.
The ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters continue political horse-trading sessions, with Gauteng being the latest target of the two erstwhile political rivals.
The EFF failed to secure victory in any of the country’s over 250 municipalities after the November 2021 local government elections.
The ANC on the other hand lost major metro councils including the City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane, City of Ekurhuleni and recently the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
The last local government elections ended with the ANC getting 46% of the popular vote, increasing the feared reality that the party could fail to secure an outright majority in the national general elections in 2024.
On Thursday the leadership of the EFF, led by deputy president Floyd Shivambu, met the ANC’s top leadership in Gauteng, led by provincial chairman and Acting Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
In his Twitter account Shivambu said: “Today we held another useful and necessary meeting with the ANC Gauteng Provincial Leadership.… The meeting discussed political programmes and governance. We will publicly communicate outcomes when consolidated.”
Earlier in the week the EFF met the leadership of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal where the ANC is playing second fiddle to a resurgent IFP led by its ailing founder Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
On Wednesday the IFP saved its coalition government in Umhlathuze (Richards Bay/Empangeni) in KZN by winning a hotly contested by-election at Ward 12.
This important municipality on the KZN North Coast, the third largest in the province, is also a lucrative tourism destination and encompasses the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone.
Before this by-election, the council was always at risk of being taken over by an ANC/EFF coalition.
The new alliance is also working to unseat Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse.
The political horse-trading between the ruling party and its splinter party has a potential to undermine the will of the voters by giving control of some municipalities to the ANC.
Previously, EFF founder Julius Malema said he wanted to work with the ANC against a new political force of the opposition DA and smaller parties.
However, “we can only work with the ANC if we adopt a radical programme with the ANC, and if that condition is not accepted then we will be in opposition like we are in most municipalities because our conditions were not met.”
