The DA’s prospects of victory on its motion for the dissolution of council and call for fresh elections, look bleak as former coalition partners disagree on the way forward.
The party, currently on the opposition benches in council, has remained adamant that the only way to restore stability in the city is to dismantle the council and start from scratch.
The DA motion is scheduled to be heard in council on Wednesday and Thursday. The party needs a two-thirds majority of council to pass the motion. However, no party has pledged public support for the move.
Its former metro ally ActionSA says it is problematic to not take advantage of the possibility of a power grab when the numbers avail themselves.
The party’s national chairperson Michael Beaumont was referring to his party initiating talks between its former coalition partners to woo the Patriotic Alliance (PA) to ditch the ANC/EFF coalition and cross the floor.
“While we have the capacity to come together to create the numbers for a charter at national and provincial level, ActionSA does not believe that we can ring-fence local government meekly and recuse it from our charter.
“We know how the residents of Johannesburg suffered under this government and how they continue to be served by mayors and speakers with no distinguishable constituency or vision for a complex city with complex problems.”
This inherent contradiction to say that we are here to create an alternative to two political parties at a national and provincial level, but we do not do what is necessary to replace those very same parties when we have the opportunity to at a local level, is not good.
— ActionSA national chairperson,
Michael Beaumont
Beaumont said the focal point was the confidence of their multiparty charter project, and their message to Johannesburg residents that they are willing to fight for them locally just as they intend to nationally.
“It is an ongoing discussion within the charter and we are going to debate it until we have a solution. But this inherent contradiction to say that we are here to create an alternative to two political parties at a national and provincial level, but we do not do what is necessary to replace those very same parties when we have the opportunity to at a local level, is not good.”
DA leader John Steenhuisen contradicted Beaumont, saying that their refusal to be lured into another potentially unstable coalition was the only option.
“From a DA perspective it is clear that we do not have a path to a stable coalition in Johannesburg, and we would again be getting ourselves onto the merry-go-round of coalition instability and governance changes.
“It’s fundamentally why we have called for a dissolution of council — it’s what happens in democracies around the world when a stable government is not able to be formed. The people of Johannesburg must be given an opportunity to decide their future.
“I don’t think there is anybody that can be trusted more in the political sphere than the voters themselves to make a determination about their future. We believe an unstable coalition going into the national and provincial election next year will do great damage to the ability for us to sell our coalition government as an alternative capable of bringing services.”
Former coalition partner and charter ally FF Plus’ Pieter Groenewald expressed concerns about the financial burden the DA’s call for the dissolution of council would have.
“If we are going to have fresh elections before the 2024 national and provincial elections, it is going to cost a lot of money — both the parties and the taxpayers.
“We must explore the possibility that on election day — perhaps the IEC can explore — to allow residents in Johannesburg to be able to vote for their metro as well, alongside their provincial and national selection.”
Several civil society bodies have called for the City of Johannesburg to be taken over by national government, saying the country’s economic hub is in dire straits under the coalition government led by the ANC, the EFF and other smaller parties.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile told the National Assembly recently that he would soon be visiting the once “shining star” City of Johannesburg with an intervention plan after its governance and service delivery failures.
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