EFF-ANC Coalition at risk of collapse
EFF Gauteng chairperson has warned the two parties about the effect mayor Ngodwana’s removal will have on their coalition.
The power battles unfolding in the City of Ekurhuleni between coalition partners, the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), could create a ripple effect in other municipalities where the two parties govern, if the mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana is removed.
This is according to EFF Gauteng chairperson Nkululeko Dunga, who said there would be a domino effect in the City of Johannesburg, Mogale City, and the West Rand district municipality. He said the ANC’s willingness to support an ActionSA motion was a “great concern” to the EFF, according to the Independent Online.
VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE LEADS TO COUNCIL MEETING BRAWL
“If that’s the posture that they have taken, then they should not be in a position to want to reconstitute a government with themselves being involved again. You can’t support ActionSA and at the same time reconstitute a government that would be inclusive of you after that,” said Dunga.
The ANC and EFF have been at loggerheads for a while now on who should have the upper hand in running the city. Last week, a fight broke out during a council meeting after councilors got into a fistfight after a vote of no confidence against Ngodwana was being tabled.
‘WE WON’T ALLOW EFF TO PUN A GUN ON OUR HEADS,’ SAYS DUNGA
According to Mail & Guardian, Dunga said if the ANC did not have confidence in Ngodwana, its members should have resigned as whip of the council, oversight chairperson, and mayoral committee members (MMC). He accused the ANC of acting like an opposition party in the Metro.
Meanwhile, the ANC has responded by saying that it will not allow the EFF to “put a gun on their heads” and that if backing Ngodwana’s removal results in both parties losing power in the Metro, “so be it.”
SERVICE DELIVERY COLLAPSE IN CITY OF EKURHULENI
ANC coordinator Jongizizwe Dlabathi said the party had been driven to take action by the collapse of service delivery.
“We are not going to be told that if you do this, this is what is going to happen. Literally, we are living under threat, and someone is putting a gun on us. We are the ANC, and we represent the majority. The EFF doesn’t have any wards in the City of Ekurhuleni, so we can’t be told by them that if you move, this is what is going to happen,” Dlabathi said.
“We have resolved that we are prepared for the worst. If it means staying in opposition and exercising oversight, so be it. We have done it in any case. What we are not going to do is to stay for the sake of staying,” he added.