ANC wrestles with ‘Ben 82’ problem
WHAT to do with Ben 82?
That is Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Ben Fihla’s nickname, by the way. It is a combination of his name and age, and he was so dubbed after he was shifted from parliament’s back benches to Port Elizabeth to run the city.
But, howler followed howler, and it soon became obvious that he was an ineffectual mayor.
Once a respected Robben Island veteran, Fihla got the job because Luthuli House bosses hoped he would be able to whip the region’s warring ANC factions into line.
But wily politicians and technocrats quickly got the better of him, and he became a paper tiger, reading (very badly) from prepared speeches and becoming the butt of the city’s jokes.
Last month, he delivered another clanger: “I am now appointing dash dash as a caretaker portfolio chairperson . . .”
It now seems as if Luthuli House has had enough of Ben 82.
It has dawned on the party that the faction-fighting and weak administration could see it lose power in next year’s local government elections.
“There’s obviously a problem there,” said ANC national spokesman Zizi Kodwa.
“You only have to look at the number of times we [national leaders] have gone there recently, and also the number of mayors the mu- nicipality has had and city managers who have come and gone. That tells you there is something that is not right there.”
Since 2009, ANC support has been on the wane. The party is concerned, and has a plan of sorts. On May 18, President Jacob Zuma and other national leaders would return to the city “with a solution”, said Kodwa.
They are studying a report from Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan on the administrative and political problems crippling service delivery. And several successors to Fihla are being considered — including soccer boss Danny Jordaan, a former ANC MP.
The regional executive has been disbanded and replaced by a 30-man task team, who work closely with the party’s “top six”, including Zuma and his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa.
A task team member, speaking anonymously because he is not the official spokesman, said the region was dominated by “pit-bull politicians” more concerned with power than performance and the health of the party. He said the Jordaan suggestion was in line with a plan to install a credible administrator who could also appeal to coloured voters.
But critics say it is too late.
“The egg is broken, scrambled all over the floor, and now they want to do all that repair work. The horse has bolted,” said businessman Mkhuseli Jack.
Various factions had fought for control of the party and then the council so that they could “access economic spoils”, he said.
The DA, which obtained 40.2% in the 2011 local elections to the ANC’s 52.1%, is preparing for next year, and has chosen Athol Trollip as its mayoral candidate.
DA member of the provincial legislature Bobby Stevenson said there was much optimism that ANC support in the region dropped below 50% in last year’s general elections.
Julius Malema’s EFF fared poorly here last year, but he has been active in the region, telling a May Day rally his party would help push the ANC from office.
The region is a stronghold of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. Expelled from Cosatu in November last year, it could also play a telling role.
The municipality has also struggled with its finances, especially since it was a host city for the 2010 World Cup. It built a R2.1-billion stadium, which left its coffers dry. Before the tournament, it bought two dozen articulated buses from Brazil at R3.8-million each. They have been standing idle since due to an unresolved conflict with the taxi industry over how to integrate them into the city’s transport system.
ANC support in the region dropped below 50% in last year’s elections