Johnathan Paoli
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has rainchecked the announcement of the members of the Provincial Cabinet on Monday night once again, reportedly due to a breakdown in ongoing negotiations between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) over positions.
ANC Provincial Secretary TK Nciza said the ANC was ready to deal with other parties, despite the non-cooperation of the DA and refused to be bullied by the blue army.
“In Gauteng, the ANC does not want a coalition with the DA. But in Gauteng, the ANC will work with all political parties, including the DA. But their behaviour is between us and them. The list the Premier has in his pocket, doesn’t contain them,” he said.
Nciza said that the provincial structures had no choice but to follow directives from above.
“If the leadership says ‘hold on, let’s engage…’ we have to follow what the leadership says,” he said.
This is the second time that Lesufi has postponed the announcement of a Cabinet for Gauteng. Last week the expected announcement was cancelled because of the complex nature of the discussions among parties, reports said.
The second announcement of the Gauteng Executive Council was expected on Monday evening but Nciza said the announcement was postponed to Tuesday evening. But even that too was cancelled.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Inside Politics that the ANC in Gauteng was refusing to capitulate to the demands of the DA which insisted on having four specific positions.
He denied that the EFF was the reason for the delay saying that the red berets were also adamant that they don’t want to enter into any power-sharing agreement where there was the DA in the mix. He said the EFF was happy to be given an oversight position.
However, he said what peeved the ANC in Gauteng was that the DA, buoyed by what happened with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet, where they got six Ministerial positions among others, have become arrogant and are demanding to have the same considerations in Gauteng.
Another source said Lesufi was trying too hard to accommodate the EFF and if he persists and doesn’t tow the line, the Gauteng structures could be disbanded by the national government.
Lesufi previously said the appointment of the incoming MECs takes into consideration the competency, skills and representation across gender as mandated by the people of the province.
Despite the tension and disagreement culminating in the second postponement, the Premier has been optimistic about the incoming provincial executive.
The DA has praised its victory of obtaining 22 seats in the 80-seated provincial legislature.
“The voters have ensured that we have a mandate that gives us the powers to not only rescue this province, but South Africa at large,” the party said.
INSIDE POLITICS