Signs are mounting that the August 3 municipal election process is in danger of becoming an almighty messy affair, dumping the country into destabilising volatility.
And the elections may not even happen because of a wrangle over the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) wanting to verify every registered voter’s address following the by-election debacle in Potchefstroom.
According to the SA Intelligence Bulletin, ‘the heat and momentum of election campaigning is picking up day by day, it is not even certain that the election could legally be held on August 3’.
In the meantime, incidents of violence and intimidation, including five murders to date, are becoming more frequent and there are threats of “armed struggle”, together with what might already be a low-intensity civil war.

Locally speaking – Endumeni has had a chaotic five years
The last five years have been a chaotic time at Endumeni. There was much fanfare when school principal, Thulani Mahaye, took the Mayoral chain from the IFP’s Bongiwe Mbatha.
A marriage of convenience with the NFP’s Mkhize made sure that the ANC had the majority vote: seven votes (six ANC Councillors and one NFP) to the DA’s three Councillors and the IFP’s two.
The first sign of trouble was when Mayor Mahaye’s Mayoral Fortuner – the one inherited from Mbatha – overturned while coming back from a rural area. The now late traffic officer, Singh, was driving and both he and the Mayor suffered injuries.
While there was sympathy, it is also sparked the start of the Q7 Audi era which has been a roller-coaster of a ride. The high-tech vehicle was bought for around R800 000, but was stolen from near Spar in Dundee with accusations that municipal officials were somehow involved. The car was later recovered in the rural area between Dannhauser and Newcastle.
Unrest in the streets followed  – probably engineered by shadowy figures wanting new officials in the building who would then pass on tenders to mates. Ian Grisdale’s, the financial manager, had his office petrol bombed. Bart Maltman’s name was spray painted on various buildings. His Pensiongate saga is also still rumbling – costing Council over R2-million due to a Pension Fund technicality which Endumeni paid for and a High Court Judge agreed with.
Police shot rubber bullets and tear gas at people and this only came to an end with the axing of three senior officials: Maltman, Grisdale and the late Perumal. Their contracts were summarily cut short in May 2012 without the Council giving them official notice of the intention not to re-new their contracts. Despite warnings from the DA and IFP, the three left the building.
The three have taken legal action and it is likely that the Council will have to pay millions in damage and costs. Rates hikes are expected.
The reasons for this sudden decision only became evident when TP Biyela was named as municipal manager. His contract was signed secretly after hours and out of the office with only certain Councillors and mates present.
Following an outcry, his appointment was done officially but no one bothered to check his references. His suspension from a Government job in Nelspruit seemed to by-pass those eager to get him into the building.
The reasons will only become clear once his case is finally closed and he stops costing Endumeni R80 000 a month.
A long-drawn out game followed during which Biyela was suspended,  brought back into his office and  he promptly hired some 30-odd people, passed Council resolutions which all turned out to be illegal as the meeting that voted him back into office was, wait for it, inquorated. i.e. there were not enough Councillors at the meeting to verify the decision to bring him back.
Another round of to-ing and fro-ing followed after which Biyela was suspended and has been, on full pay for two and a half years.
Meanwhile, Councillor Zwane died and Councillor Ngobese, both of the ANC, was fired. The ANC was split into various camps and no one really knew if Councillor Mkhize of the NFP had actually been fired by his own party or not. Showing more grit than Superglue, he stills holds on to his post today. It was said that the by-elections in Ward 3 and 4 were rigged with a friendly IEC official ensuring that the ANC narrowly won both. Who knows?
There were further rumblings over the Audi – going on fantastic 1500km rides to Joburg and Durban and everywhere in between. Eventually, it crashed in Durban and was whisked away in secret to a local panelbeaters where it was fixed for around R80 000 or more (who knows?) and no one knows if insurance paid or perhaps funding was done via somewhere else. Tenders?
Then there was Chickengate – a cool R52 000 spent on Nandos in emergency funding to feed young maidens attending the Kings’s Reed Dance.
Then there was Racegate – racist e-mails sent out from the municipality in a bid to frame an official who was ‘trying to clean out the building’. There was an investigation and someone did lose their job this time around.
There was the case of officials who act in various capacities being paid up to 25% more than they should. Then there was the guy who applied for a position and had the interview questions faxed to him by a municipal official from a local business. Then there was the terrible death of official Martin Hlangani when his ML vehicle crashed and caught fire on the Sunset Rest road. There is no finality regarding this either.
And, Endumeni, has had so many actors in place it beggars belief. Just about everyone has had a chance to act as municipal manager – except for the guy handing out parking tickets. Many of the other positions are held by actors. There are union meetings during working hours and sometimes they march on the municipality. Petitions and grumbling have never fixed a thing. How residents still get a service charge bill is probably the eighth miracle of the world.
To those who go about serving the municipality and their community with integrity and dignity – well done.
Residents so gatvol of the never-ending drama may just stay away from the polls. Will the ANC lose support? On paper ,they should. They may end up with five of the seven wards come August 4. Some people are upset that those involved in Grishen Bujram’s 2007 murder have been named as PR candidates. The EFF will erode away their support and the DA is confident of picking up new voters. The IFP is trumpeting back and has  some new candidates. The NFP may disappear altogether. But if it rains and is cold and windy on August 3 many will simply braai, stay at home and wait for the next disastrous five years.
Legality
At the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) traditional draw for the top spot on the ballot paper last week one of the newest of the 206 political parties registered for the elections challenged the legality of the process.
The deputy president of the Shosholoza Progressive Party and a former senior employee of the IEC, Raynauld Russon, demanded that the election process be stopped because it is “illegal”.
The party also said it will this week approach the High Court in Pretoria in an attempt to stop this year’s elections. The basis of their application is that judgement by the Constitutional Court on (CC) the question of voters’ addresses on the voters roll is still outstanding.
The IEC already approached the CC in February with an urgent application to overturn an Electoral Court order calling for the registration of voter addresses to be set aside. At this stage, it is not known when the ruling can be expected.
Fact is, as things stand regarding verifiable voters addresses on the roll, should the election go ahead, it will violate the Electoral Act. If the election does not take place it will be a violation of the Constitution.
Unless this issue is soon resolved, this legal shadow over the process will remain, and if the election does go ahead regardless, a string of court cases challenging the results might follow.
Just about the only escape available might be for the parties, presently represented in parliament, to agree to urgently amend either the Electoral Act or the Constitution. But there are no indications that such a move is afoot, while time is fast running out to mount it in time for August 3.