Minister admits: fighting may cost ANC Tshwane
THE ANC is at risk of losing Tshwane in August and will need to work extra hard to retain the capital, Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has admitted.
Mokonyane, who is also the party’s head of campaigns, said senior leaders were concerned about the decline in ANC support in the city, which she said was as a result of infighting.
Tshwane is one of three big metros — with Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay — where the ANC could be unseated in the local elections.
The ANC won just over 50% in Tshwane in the 2014 general elections, fuelling speculation that mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa may not return to the job after the August polls.
“Yes, we are worried and we were the first to say we have a serious concern about . . . how we performed in the last elections in Tshwane,” said Mokonyane.
The party would have to deal with “internal issues that may irritate and alienate our voters. Supporters of the ANC don’t like it when we fight among ourselves.”
The ANC national executive committee has decided that the party should field respected, senior party figures with political clout in the local elections.
This week it emerged that a group within the Johannesburg regional executive was lobbying for the removal of mayor Parks Tau.
Danny Jordaan, appointed only last year as Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, is said to be at risk of losing the post as party structures lobby against him.
Mokonyane said the ANC would deploy “heavyweights” in the big metros, but refused to reveal names.
“In some instances we encourage continuity; in others we find there is a need for change for strategic reasons. We have looked at what we have delivered and not been able to deliver.”