ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member David Makhura has said that by the end of January, the party will finish with its report on its ‘bold decision’ to withdraw from coalitions across the country that ‘are not working for residents’.
Back in October 2023, the NEC adopted a decision to review the ANC’s ‘participation in coalitions that are not working for [residents of] municipalities’.
Since November, the party has been compiling a report of every municipality in which it is part of a coalition. Makhura said this is because ‘quite clearly, there are many coalitions which are not working’.
‘In some municipalities where coalitions have been established, things have just gotten worse’, said Makhura at the first NEC meeting of the year.
‘We do not want to be part of a coalition where there may be illegal or unethical decisions being made [by coalition partners] that would damage the image of the ANC being part of that’, he added.
On Saturday, the ANC’s national task team for coalitions held a media briefing, saying that a complete report on the party’s approach to coalition governments would be finalised by the end of January, and a decision by the party would follow.
There are 81 hung councils across the country where coalitions are needed, as no party has achieved the 50%+1 threshold to form a government on its own. The ANC are in numerous coalitions, including with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
Some in the NEC have repeatedly called for the severing of ties in these coalitions.
‘We need this to be based on evidence; it can’t be based on emotions [or] political manoeuvres of the various parties’, added Makhura.
[Photo: GCIS/X]