Sthembelo Majola
Pretoria - It is common knowledge that the election of minority party mayors in the metros of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni was the ANC’s desperate attempt to gain control of the budget of these metros by any means necessary.
In Joburg, the coalition of the ANC, EFF, PA, and others was never based on shared values and principles.
The removal of the then mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse and the election of Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad did not happen because of the ANC-EFF coalition sharing common values. This was a consequence of the instability within the then governing multi-party coalition which saw the PA switching sides out of dissatisfaction.
Even after the PA had left the rainbow coalition, the party was never ambiguous about its non-alignment with the new group it had joined. From the inception of that coalition, stark political differences existed. The PA’s position on boarder and immigration control contrasts with that of the EFF; in the economic front, the PA leans towards the political ideology that promotes the free market system, while the ANC and EFF are fundamentally grounded on communist ideas.
It would be naive to think these political differences do not play out practically in governance. Political ideologies will always inform the budgeting process and the implementation of the goals of a government. The reality is that what holds this coalition together is compromise. This coalition is solely based on expediency.
The question is can we, the residents of these metros, afford to be governed by a coalition founded on expediency for the next three years? What impact does this have on service delivery, the quality of governance, the development of these cities, which can only be achieved through the pursuit of a clearly articulated vision by a mayor and executive that pulls to the same direction?
How can this be achieved when the government is made up of parties that hold contrasting world views?
When the multi-party coalition was formed in 2021, parties based their agreement on shared values and principles. A formal agreement was produced and made public for the residents to scrutinise and for accountability purposes. This is the type of transparency that should be encouraged. This agreement laid out the vision that the MPG (multi-party group) was pursuing along with the priority areas of focus.
Today the City of Johannesburg is led by an executive mayor who has no articulated vision for the City, no set goals to pursue, a mayor who leads a coalition that’s not founded on any shared principles, a mayor who’s claim to office is far less credible than a matriculant who has no chance of passing this year’s final exams.
Are we better off really? Is this the best we could do? Can we seriously afford to take the risk of placing for the next three years, the future of South Africa’s economic hub in the hands of someone who’s highest educational attainment is a Grade 9? How can we entrust someone with allegations of fraud levelled against him with the responsibility of overseeing a budget of R80.9 billion?
It is incontestable fact that the mayor has no capacity to carry out this responsibility, and his history of having been involved in fraud does not make things better. What is being asked of him far exceeds his capacity to deliver.
Recent examples of his powerlessness in this arrangement was his silence on the allegations of corruption levelled against a member of his mayoral committee for economic development, councillor Nomoya Mnisi.
There already exist a foundation for an even better version of this coalition with the establishment of the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa.
We do not have to wait for 2024 to begin the project of fixing South Africa, we can begin by fixing Joburg, the economic hub of the country.
* Majola is ActionSA PR councillor in the City of Johannesburg.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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