THE ANC feels concerned that in the City of Ekurhuleni, City of Joburg, City of Tshwane and Mogale City Local Municipality, the ANC did not receive more than 50% of the votes.
The concern was raised in a statement issued on Wednesday, following a special ANC Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting on Monday to assess the outcome of the 2016 Local Government Elections and to map a way forward.
“In municipalities where we have not received more than 50% (which includes Ekurhuleni) the PEC has mandated provincial office bearers to urgently lead a process of discussions with various parties to form coalition governments. These talks are currently underway and we will communicate once they are finalised. ANC national officials are providing guidance and support to the process,” the ANC provincial government said in its statement.
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The PEC resolved that in the six municipalities where the ANC received over 50% of votes, governments must be constituted without any delay.
“The PEC expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the people of Gauteng for coming out to vote and to participate in the latest elections. Once again the ANC has received enough votes to continue to be the majority party in the province.
“We are humbled that we have been entrusted with the responsibility to continue to implement our programme of radical socio-economic transformation in the West Rand District Municipality, Merafong Local Municipality, Rand West City Local Municipality, Sedibeng District Municipality, Emfuleni Local Municipality and Lesedi Local Municipality,” it said.
According to the statement the PEC appreciates the sensitivity with which coalition talks should be treated and the fact that the outcomes of the negotiations will ultimately have an impact on the future of the affected municipalities. The PEC expressed the view that the ANC should pursue an approach on coalitions that puts the interest of the communities first.
The PEC agreed that the formation of any coalition government must be based on the principle that those the ANC work with, are prepared to advance the agenda of radical socio-economic transformation.
In the meantime, the PEC called on municipalities to ensure that during this negotiation period, service delivery is not negatively affected and that the provision of services to communities should continue as normal.
The PEC has reiterated the view that the elections outcome calls for a need to look inward and examine all the issues that many of its voters continue to raise with them.
