'ANC sabotaging councils on purpose'

Battered at the polls, the ANC has been accused of intentionally sabotaging the formation of councils in some of the municipalities it lost to the opposition.

The DA said this could lead to election reruns in affected councils, with the party suggesting that this was the ANC's ultimate goal.

Almost a month after the local government elections, Jozini municipality in KwaZulu-Natal and Ga-Magara municipality in Northern Cape were yet to elect the mayor and speaker because of ANC shenanigans, said the DA.

The party said after they were sworn in at the inaugural Jozini municipality council meeting on Tuesday, ANC councillors asked for a short caucus and then vanished. This left the council without a quorum to proceed with the election of the mayor and speaker.

The council is split equally between the ANC and the coalition of DA, EFF and IFP.

Though the ANC scored an outright majority in the Ga-Magara municipality, the party is divided on the candidates for executive mayor and speaker.

Kevin Mileham, DA spokesman for co-operative governance and traditional affairs, said the divisions resulted in ANC councillors boycotting council meetings, leaving the council without a quorum to proceed.

He said the executive committee was considering dissolving the council and calling for new elections. He said the DA would not allow municipalities to be hijacked for petty political interests by the ANC or any party.