By Phuti Mosomane
THE ANC Johannesburg leader and MMC for Finance Dada Morero said on Thursday that City Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda is ready to give up his mayoral chains, voluntarily amid growing calls for his head and a change in government.
Similar calls for Gwamanda to step down have been made by the leaders of the grand coalition – the Government of National Unity (GNU) – such as the DA.
Morero’s call for Gwamanda’s head on Thursday was supported by ANC Joburg Secretary Sasabona Mngwenya.
Morero said Gwamanda’s party Al Jama-ah understood that his appointment was temporary hence the party was not fighting the ANC and was ready to let him go.
However, Al Jama-ah’s national leader Ganief Hendricks, serving in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s executive as deputy minister of Social Development – a GNU member in good standing – is adamant that Gwamanda won’t be removed from office.
On Thursday Gwamanda responded to calls for his resignation saying that critics are targeting him because he is a “black child”.
The calls to remove Gwamanda should be a wake up call to smaller parties that believed they are shielded and safe in the GNU, to realise that what they have been given can easily be taken away.
The reality is that if the ANC removes Gwamanda as the Mayor of Johannesburg, the move will go against the National Coalition agreement signed by parties such as the DA, ANC and Al Jama-ah.
On the other hand, Civil society groups such as Rivonia Circle, which was co-founded by another GNU member and Rise Mzansi (RISE) Leader Songezo Zibi, plan to march against Gwamanda, insisting he’s to blame for the city’s decay.
Rivonia Circle Director Tessa Dooms said: “We’ve seen many instances where the Mayor does PR at the desk without any sense that he cares about what’s going on in the city.”
The ongoing political tension at the City of Johannesburg, could quickly spread to the City of Tshwane and the province of KZN as there are clear signs that the glue holding the GNU is thinning in at least three key Provinces.
Political analysts are saying the tensions expose the true nature of the grand coalition, and all talks of unity are simply there to cover up the DA-ANC’s alliance.
Also, members of the ANC’s tripartite Alliance who have been critical of the marriage between the ANC and the DA in particular, refer to the multi-party coalition as a “misalliance”.
First deputy president of COSATU Mike Shingange told Nehawu members recently that the ANC’s GNU was based on political parties’ own interest and not on nation-building or service delivery.
“From where I stand, we are under a government of elite pact which they chose to call it the government of national unity – the voters never chose that thing,” he said.
Shingange’s comments were supported by SACP Secretary general Solly Mapaila who said this week that the ANC missed a chance of forming a progressive government with ideologically left-minded parties such as the EFF and MK Party.
Analysts say the problems with ‘unity’ are not confined to Johannesburg only. In Tshwane, where the DA governs jointly with ActionSA, ANC was planning a vote of no confidence against the DA Mayor until they received last minute orders from provincial leaders to withdraw.
Equally, there are similar problems in KwaZulu-Natal as well where the IFP, ANC and DA are governing.
The largest party by numbers is the MK, which announced its intentions of working with the EFF and NFP to have exactly 40 seats (half of the 80).
Back in Gauteng where the ANC rules in a minority administration with other parties but not with the EFF or DA, things could also fall apart if the smaller parties refuse to co-operate within the GNU framework.
ActionSA President and former Mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba said it is clear that GNU will not address the underlying issues facing South Africa.
Mashaba said a significant concern is that parties such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) joined the GNU out of desperation for power and positions rather than a genuine desire to put the interests of South Africans first.
This opportunistic move underscores a troubling priority shift towards political gain over public service.
Furthermore, Mashaba said the DA does not believe in redress and has no solutions for redress in a country with the worst inequality in the world, having suffered through apartheid and 30 years of ANC misrule.
Such considerations further erode the potential effectiveness of the GNU, as self-interest and political manoeuvring take precedence over the collective good and the urgent needs of our citizens.
“Given these concerns, it is evident that a GNU is unlikely to deliver the improvements South Africa desperately needs. The challenges of addressing crime, revitalising the economy, and creating jobs require decisive and unified action.
“However, a GNU, composed of parties with fundamentally different views on how to tackle these issues, is inherently incapable of forming and implementing coherent policies,” he said on Monday.
He said the lack of consensus on critical issues will lead to gridlock and inefficiency, making it impossible for the GNU to make meaningful progress by 2026.
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