Herman Mashaba slated for closing doors as he refuses to negotiate with ANC

As political parties push to conclude coalition talks, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has been criticised for closing the door on forming a coalition with the ANC because that will be a missed opportunity for him to pursue his vision as Joburg mayor.

It left the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to explore a left-leaning coalition.

Political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast disagreed with ActionSA for insisting on “keeping the ANC out of power” at all costs. He questioned whether parties should consider their political differences, rather than concentrating on service delivery.

On the EFF-ANC coalition Breakfast said: “I don’t think this arrangement will benefit the people; maybe it will benefit the EFF.”

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Analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga said an ANC-EFF coalition might have its own challenges because the EFF was interested in power, not council stability.

“Their coalition would more likely look natural. But the EFF does not want to take responsibility for performance of the council, therefore its aim seems not to be about building stability, but more about sharing power.”

EFF leader Julius Malema has proposed that ActionSA governs the City of Joburg on its own, with the EFF ruling Tshwane and the ANC taking Ekurhuleni. The parties would implement their own policies without interference. Further, they would conduct the oversight function against the party in charge.

Many said this made sense and Mashaba should have accepted it.

As a further compromise, it was proposed the ANC would run the Nelson Mandela and eThekwini metros, backed by the EFF.

The proposals appeared to have been canvassed between the ANC and EFF, which played a mediation role between the ANC and ActionSA.

But Mashaba said ActionSA’s senate had resolved to close the door on the coalition proposal. “The proposal was dependent on ANC support. We will never work with the ANC and any arrangement dependent on them would be a violation of our commitment to SA,” he said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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