Politicians too busy fighting for power to care how their games affect citizens

In the past few months, politics have become a game of musical chairs as various attempts have been made and succeeded to remove Democratic Alliance mayors elected within Gauteng municipalities.

Motions of no confidence

Last week DA Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell was voted out in a motion of no confidence after 100 councillors voted in favour of her removal.

The Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse was removed with a vote of no confidence and reinstated following a high court ruling that reversed the motion.

NOW READ: City of Joburg drama far from over as Mpho Phalatse faces another no confidence motion

After Phalatse’s reinstatement, another vote of no confidence threatened her position again.

In August Tshwane mayor Randall Williams survived a threat of no confidence by the Economic Freedom fighters and the African National Congress.

Expert weighs in

A political analyst from the University of Mpumalanga Dr John Molepo said citizens suffered when politicians started fighting for the removal of others from power.

“If there is a strong administration that is not tied up in politics services will be delivered. The professionalisation in the public sector should be taken seriously to ensure problems in various municipalities, particularly those in collisions will be sorted through administration, meaning the municipal managers should be able to run the teams to implement the services to people,” he said.

Professor at the Political Science Department of Stellenbosch University Amanda Gouws said politicking was always at the cost of citizens.

“The bigger issue here is that it does not bode well for coalition politics after the 2024 election. The fighting is not about principles but about power,” she said.

Gouws said it would be an interesting election if the ANC bagged below 50% of the votes due to new parties capturing ANC votes.

Political analyst Piet Croucamp said the idea that politicians and bureaucrats were elected to serve to promote the greater good was fallacious thinking.

“The electorate seeks power for their representatives which they then use to abuse the privileges of office. If you think in that way, the shenanigans of local politicians make sense. Our naive thing impedes our understanding,” he said.

“Most post-authoritarian electorates wee epi-genetically prone to succumb to the vanities of power politics; we were as guilty as our leaders,” Croucamp added.

Head of the Department of Cultural and Political Studies at the University of Limpopo professor Kgothatso Shai said politicians were plying their trade.

“While they do so, the administrators should continue to serve the public without fail. But this is not the case in Tshwane, JHB and elsewhere in the country due to the conflation of politics and administration,” he said.

Shai said the need for a professionalised public sector was more urgent than ever.

“It is only a professionalised public sector that can wither political storms in such a way that protect the innocent public from becoming collateral damage in terms of service delivery failures,” he said.

ALSO READ:

marizkac@citizen.co.za