The year the DA and IFP entered into a coalition agreement in the City of Joburg

we take our own decisions.

“At provincial level we do not decide on forming coalitions.

“Those talks take place at national level of the party,” Dhlamini said.

The IFP has five councillors in the Joburg City Council – Nonhlanhla Makhuba, Mzobanzi Ntuli, Thokozile Kubheka, Mlungisi Mabaso and Vincent Shange.

Makhuba holds the portfolio of member of the mayoral committee for transport.

A second position which was offered to the IFP’s Ntuli was that of human settlements, which the DA later took back, a move that caused tension between the two parties.

“The agreement was not done properly.

“There was no consultation with the IFP,” Dhlamini said.

But he stressed that the IFP did not join the coalition in order to get positions and that removal of their member of the mayoral committee did not cause them to abandon the DA-led coalition.

“As a coalition partner, we have no demands of the DA, but we want a corruption-free government that is responsive to the poor and able to provide services to the people without looking at their political affiliation.

“All we want from the DA is for it to provide a mayoral candidate to vote for,” Dhlamini said.

Political parties are scrambling to find a suitable replacement following Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba’s surprise resignation on Monday.

After Mashaba revealed the reason for his resignation was the election of former DA party leader Helen Zille as federal council chairperson over the weekend, DA Gauteng caucus leader John Moody said the caucus would determine the party’s way forward today in the DA’s offices in Bruma.

He said there would be no developments until the meeting at which the “issue of the impending vacancy” would be discussed was concluded.

ANC regional spokesperson Jolidee Matongo said regional office bearers would convene with the Gauteng provincial executives of the party to discuss the matter further. He said the regional faction would elect three nominees for the mayoral position and present it to the provincial executives who would select one of them.

Matongo said although the party had welcomed Mashaba’s resignation “the issue now is that he wants to determine the manner in which he is going. There is no crisis so why is he still in office?

“We have a city manager who can go through the process of electing another mayor without Mashaba. It seems as if he is trying to get rid of information before he goes.”

On the other hand, the Congress of the People said it respected Mashaba’s principled decision. Cope national spokesperson Dennis Bloem said: “We want to convene a meeting very soon before we call a meeting with other coalition partners because we hold this in a very serious light.”

The issue now is that he wants to determine the manner in which he is going.

Jolidee Matongo

ANC regional spokesperson