By-elections in Gauteng, KZN
The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) will oversee byelections this week in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, two of the most populous provinces, where the ANC faces threats from the DA and EFF.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the IFP and the DA last week said their coalition pact has already begun bearing fruit. In July, the parties signed an agreement to work together in some municipalities in the province. As part of the pact, the two parties have agreed not to compete against each other.
In the by-election in ward 11 in the iNkosi Langalibalele Municipality, only three contestants will participate — from the EFF, ANC and IFP. The DA decided not to put forward a candidate and will instead support the IFP candidate.
The ward was previously represented by the ANC and became vacant when the councillor died.
In ward 23 in the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, the byelection will be contested by four candidates. This ward was also previously represented by the ANC and the position became vacant as a result of a councillor’s expulsion.
In Gauteng, ward 17 in the Rand West City Municipality will be contested by candidates from the ANC, the African Freedom Revolution, the African Transformation Movement, the EFF and IFP. The ward was previously represented by the ANC and became vacant as a result of a councillor’s death.
All the by-elections will be held on Wednesday and contested by 15 candidates from seven political parties.
Parliament will this week start winding down as members will continue their constituency period until Thursday before the start of the fourth quarter leave period until January 5 2024. Parliament will officially resume on February 8, when President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to deliver his final state of the nation address before the general election.
Final committee meetings will take place throughout the week. This includes Tuesday’s briefing by the SABC on its updated corporate plan and a briefing by the SA Post Office on its business rescue plan, which was approved by creditors last week. The briefings will be given to the portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies.
On Wednesday, the portfolio committee on public enterprises will consider evidence by former director-general of public enterprises Kgathatso Tlhakudi on his allegations that SAA’s sale to a private equity partner was marred by fraud, which the department denies.
Deputy president Paul Mashatile will be in Singapore and Vietnam this week as part of a working visit to South Asian nations. His visit is intended to build and strengthen bilateral relations in particular increasing trade, economic knowledge and cultural exchanges, said Mashatile’s office.