Cape Town – Seven opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay have signed a new coalition agreement.
The parties made the announcement at a press briefing in Gqeberha on Thursday.
The coalition is made of the DA, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), ACDP, African Independent Congress, Abantu Integrity Movement Pan Africanist Congress, and the UDM.
In a joint statement they said it had been a culmination of almost four months of negotiations to “form a new government” in the metro.
The main reasons cited for the move were the handling of the current water crisis and the legality of the city manager.
“These two burning issues, among many others, are key priorities of this multi-party coalition which seeks to restore stability, root out corruption and improve service delivery.
“We stand ready to take the lead and rebuild what has been broken down. Navigating these negotiations was certainly not easy for any party, and took a lot of time and effort.
“Extensive time was spent discussing a shared set of values, principles, commitments, objectives and priorities that will inform the governance blueprint of the new coalition,” the group said in a statement.
Their next move will be table a motion of no confidence (MONC) in the current government.
According to their proposals for the new council, the DA will take most of the top positions, including that of mayor. They are proposing Eastern Cape MPL Retief Odendaal for the role.
The ANC and DA were neck and neck in the 2021 municipal election, each winning 48 seats.
The current mayor is the ANC’s Eugene Johnson, who won the position by one vote, beating the DA’s Nqaba Bhanga.
Deputy vice-chancellor of Institutional Support at the University of Zululand and political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said the move might help put those in power in check.
“In time, voters will force the ANC to realise that it does not own the black vote. This on its own is a positive development. It helps to put those in power in check.
“Three things spring to mind. First relates to what many people now associate with the ANC. A party that is internally focused. As a result, it delivers poor service.
“Second, ANC members have allowed themselves to be embroiled in palace and factional politics. More energy is invested in these battles.
“Three, the ANC’s failures have forced other parties to engage each other,” he said.
The ANC in the province were still in discussion on the matter, they said.
Cape Times