DA guns for ‘doomsday coalition’
The DA hopes to persuade political parties in coalition talks before next year’s general election to help to block the EFF, the official opposition’s “enemy number one”, from teaming up with the governing ANC.
The DA is in a race against time to get smaller parties and possible newcomers to band together to topple the ANC, which for the first time since 1994 is facing huge electoral losses. The ANC lost up to 10% in just one vote in recent elections in urban centres.
It is speculated that the ANC and EFF could share power at national level after the general election. This comes after the ANC-EFF agreement in Gauteng, SA’s economic heartland, which led to two mayors (Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni) being removed through motions of no confidence.
In Johannesburg, Mpho Phalatse, who unsuccessfully challenged John Steenhuisen as DA leader, was removed as mayor in January, with councillors from the ANC, EFF and smaller parties being appointed to the mayoral committee.
The same fate befell Tania Campbell in Ekurhuleni. At a council meeting last Thursday, she was replaced by African Independent Congress (AIC) councillor Sivuyile Ngodwana, who said his priorities as mayor include pruning trees, cutting grass and fixing potholes. The Ekurhuleni council speaker position is held by EFF councillor Nthabiseng Tshivhenga.
Steenhuisen said one risk threatens the future of South Africans. “That risk is the increasingly realistic prospect of an alliance between the ANC and the EFF taking power next year. Given the fact that the ANC now officially co-governs with the EFF in parts of Gauteng, we need to start taking the threat of these parties ganging up to destroy our country in 2024 very, very seriously.”
When the ANC-EFF coalition takes over, “it will be doomsday for SA”, he said.
“EFF doomsday will make the collapse of Zimbabwe look like a dress rehearsal and will leave all South Africans destitute: black, coloured, white and Indian,” said the DA leader.
“That is why, during the remaining months before next year’s election, the DA will make it our number one priority — and do absolutely everything in our power — to prevent [an] ANCEFF doomsday coalition from taking power.”
Steenhuisen acknowledged that “the cold, hard truth is that the doomsday coalition between the ANC and EFF has already taken over Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, with the help of its little proxies”.
Steenhuisen described the DA, the official opposition, as the only party with the “size, the resources and the track record to oppose and defeat the doomsday coalition”.
At the DA’s federal congress at the weekend, Steenhuisen won the party’s leadership election against Phalatse with 83% of the vote of the 2,000 delegates.
Other top party leaders elected are the deputy chairs of the federal council, Ashor Sarupen, Annelie Lotriet and Thomas Walters; the federal chair: Ivan Meyer; deputy federal chairs JP Smith, Solly Malatsi and Anton Bredell; and federal finance chair Dion George.
The party’s internal election agency declared the election free and fair.
The DA’s presiding officer, Greg Krumbock, has said internal and external polls predict a difference of only 11% difference between the ANC and the DA in the 2024 general election, stressing that the party congress was crucial as “we could very well be electing the president of the country at this congress”.
EFF DOOMSDAY WILL MAKE THE COLLAPSE OF ZIMBABWE LOOK LIKE A DRESS REHEARSAL AND LEAVE [SA] DESTITUTE
John Steenhuisen DA leader