A premier who scraps e-tolls, or the devil you know?
THE battle for the premiership of Gauteng will spice up the general election nicely in 2014.
Let’s face it: at national level it goes without saying that the ANC will regain power and Jacob Zuma will serve a second term as President. Unless the unthinkable happens, the battle for Gauteng will be between the ANC and the DA.
With due respect to other political parties, they lack the bite that goes with the bark required to lead the most economically active province in South Africa.
The DA has a firm grip on the Western Cape and has now set its sights on Gauteng. The first step was naming national spokesperson and Johannesburg caucus leader Mmusi Maimane as its candidate for Premier in the golden province.
In the opposite corner, the ruling ANC has played its cards close to its chest thus far, and it remains unknown whether incumbent Nomvula Mokonyane will still stand for the highest office.
Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile is the chairperson of ANC in Gauteng, and the ANC is known for making its provincial leaders premiers in most provinces.
There is widespread belief that Mokonyane, though she has done relatively well in her stint as Premier, has been undermined by the main centre of power in the province, Mashatile, himself a former Premier of Gauteng.
Therefore, don’t bank against Mashatile returning to the hot seat or nominating his preferred candidate for the top job.
Maimane burst on to the scene in 2011 in a failed bid to be Johannesburg mayor.
He is well educated, young and free of political garbage of the past, and appeals to people across racial lines. And he has promised to scrap e-tolling, while Mokonyane and the ANC stubbornly decided to forge ahead with the controversial and much-hated user-pay principle.
