ANC is hedging with EFF

The ANC is courting the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) because it may lose power in Gauteng and some crucial areas of KwaZulu-Natal – and the “marriage of convenience” is to keep the ANC in control.

Political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said both parties have also reached a political cul de sac in their support bases nationally and were looking at a joint survival strategy.

In the provinces, the weakening ANC could be played by the EFF, which is believed to be behind the no-confidence votes against incumbent mayors in Gauteng and elsewhere.

The EFF, with ANC backing, were smartly using the smaller parties as weapons to propose no confidence motions to destroy multiparty governing coalitions in Democratic Alliance-led councils.

“The ANC needs the EFF and the EFF needs the ANC. Whatever the EFF is doing, the ANC benefits from it,” Ndlovu said.

He was of the view that both parties had reached the ceilings in their support bases, hence were considering partnering with each other. ANC support has been dropping as shown by the November local government elections results and the outcomes of the 2019 national polls.

On the other hand, the EFF saw the ANC as a step ladder to power because it had reached a cul de sac in its support from the youth, its main constituency.

Social movements such as Operation Dudula, with its strong anti-illegal immigrant stance, had stolen many youth from the EFF, which wanted to let all foreign migrants into the country regardless of their legal status.

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng initiated talks with the EFF about forming alliances to jointly govern the two provinces in 2024. The negotiations were aimed at sharing power at local, provincial and local government levels and to beat the threat from the Democratic Alliance and its partners.

According to observers, the outcome of the talks could see the EFF getting provincial Cabinet and mayoral posts and being appointed to mayoral committees in the two provinces.