DA in the EC requests urgent meeting with EFF on future of coalition

The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape is to request an urgent meeting with the Economic Freedom Fighters following the latter’s decision to “abscond” from the councils of the three metros governed by the opposition party coalitions.

The EFF has been boycotting council meetings in Johannesburg‚ Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay. It was quoted on Saturday as saying it had taken the decision to stay away from council meetings of the DA-led coalitions to demonstrate to the DA that they cannot govern alone without smaller parties.

This follows the recent ousting of the United Democratic Movement’s Mongameli Bobani as deputy mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay after a no-confidence vote‚ which the EFF was apparently unhappy about.

DA Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga said the short-sighted decision by the EFF to stay away from councils had only served to put the power back in the hands of the ANC.

“Essentially‚ the EFF is defying the mandate provided to the opposition by millions of voters‚ a step which seeks to cripple service delivery and job creation where we govern‚” Bhanga said‚ adding that the reasons for the EFF’s discontent were unclear.

He said that in the August 2016 local elections the voters in the three metros had voted for a new beginning and placed their trust in opposition parties.

Bhanga said that the DA‚ together with COPE and the ACDP‚ had acted to remove Bobani as deputy mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay after months of consultation with the UDM about his “very questionable conduct‚ which sought to undermine and destroy the coalition agreement”.

“Mr Bobani has on several occasions voted with the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMB) and against the will of the people. This‚ in addition to being implicated in corruption within a department in the City he was responsible for.”

Bhanga said the DA remained committed to working with other opposition parties‚ including the UDM.

“We have continuously stated that‚ in the interest of the coalition and delivering services to the people of the metro‚ the UDM should nominate an alternative candidate who will ensure that we can focus on delivering services for the people of NMB‚” he said.

He added: “The residents of these metros made it clear they were rejecting a corrupt ANC government which no longer served them. Therefore‚ condoning corruption or supporting the ANC‚ even in the interest of keeping the coalition together‚ is not an option.

“The DA will accordingly request an urgent meeting with the EFF leadership to discuss this matter.”Bhanga added that the coalition partners could not afford to let internal squabbles subvert the people’s business and undermine the great work that had been done by the coalition governments.

“The DA is committed to serving the people who have put their trust in those who can deliver services and we will not waiver on our commitment to fulfilling our promise to do so. We trust that the EFF is too.”