Sasolburg may get EFF tiger in its tank
DA backs Malema party move, but says it will be a watchdog
SOUTH Africans may get their first taste of an EFF government on Tuesday if Julius Malema’s party takes control of the Metsimaholo municipality in Sasolburg.
Since August Metsimaholo has been governed by a coalition of the DA, the Metsimaholo Civic Association (MCA) and the Freedom Front Plus, with the co-operation of the EFF.
But now the MCA is rumoured to have switched its allegiance to the ANC.
The other parties co-operating against the ANC will institute a motion of no confidence in MCA mayor Sello Hlasa on Tuesday.
In August’s elections the ANC won 19 seats on the 42-member council, the DA 12, the EFF eight, the MCA two and the FF+ one.
Since then one of the ANC ward councillors has resigned, leaving the ANC with 18 seats until a by-election can be held. This means the ANC and MCA cannot muster a majority on their own.
The DA has a vacancy in one of its proportional seats, but DA Free State leader Patricia Kopane said it would be filled by Tuesday.
The difference between Metsimaholo and other municipalities where opposition parties co-operate against the ANC is that the EFF wants to hold all the positions on the mayoral committee, to show how it can govern.
This will mean DA members could lose their positions, but Kopane said the final agreement between the DA and the EFF would be negotiated over the weekend.
She said the DA had the numbers to keep the EFF in check. The EFF would need DA votes to pass its plans in the council so the DA would keep acting in its supporters’ interests. VOTE ON MAYOR: Sello Hlasa
In all other municipalities where opposition parties co-operate against the ANC, the EFF holds no executive positions but merely lends its votes on an issue-by-issue basis.
The Metsimaholo decision has a strong element of payback. Other opposition parties must support the EFF in Metsimaholo to be absolutely certain of being supported by the EFF elsewhere.
This follows a decision by the EFF’s annual main planning session to take over municipalities without co-governing.
The DA national coalition task team will meet with their EFF counterparts today to finalise the exact agreement.
FF+ leader Pieter Groenewald said his party would decide how to vote tomorrow, but would not hand power to the ANC.
Should the DA vacancy not be filled in time and the vote ends on 20-20, there is some disagreement on whether DA speaker Arnoldi du Plooy would have an extra casting vote to break the tie.
But Hlasa is preparing to fight back. He told the Sunday Times that should the DA and EFF remove him from power in Tuesday’s vote, he would challenge the matter in court.
Hlasa stands accused of having awarded contracts without consulting coalition partners or following proper procedures, but he denies it.
“If they remove me on Tuesday, I will challenge that in court. I was not given enough time to respond to allegations they made against me,” said Hlasa.
Free State ANC spokesman Thabo Meeko said his party would oppose the vote of no confidence against Hlasa.
Hlasa hinted at a coalition with the ANC.
“That is a possibility that I cannot rule out,” Hlasa said.
EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu said the EFF would use Metsimaholo to show that its election manifesto promises could work in practice, and he painted a picture of a model municipality.
“The focus will be squarely on service delivery and the EFF national leadership will closely monitor developments in Metsimaholo to ensure success,” Shivambu said.
The DA’s federal executive chairman, James Selfe, said the party welcomed the EFF taking some responsibility, but would do strict oversight to ensure that it did nothing unconstitutional, illegal or against DA principles.