PHUTI MOSOMANE
ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula says that the ruling party will not form any coalition government or partnership with the Democratic Alliance (DA) because of its ‘racist’ policies and apartheid-era racial stereotypes against black people.
Instead, the ANC would prioritize working with former liberation movements, independent candidates, service delivery forums and community groups committed to undoing the legacy of apartheid.
Mbalula was briefing news reporters in Johannesburg on the outcomes of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) over the past weekend.
He said the DA’s ideology of privatizing everything in the state is incompatible with the ANC’s belief in looking after the disadvantaged African majority.
“We want stability of these metros, but we won’t work with the DA. The DA believes that Affirmative Action (AA) is a problem. They say what happened in over 300 years must be forgotten in just 30 years, and that we are all equal. Go to Soweto and Sandton to see the differences. The DA believes that everything in the State must be privatized while we believe that the disadvantaged majority must be looked after.,” he said.
“The ANC will prioritize working with former liberation movements, small parties, community-based organisations, service delivery forums and independent candidates who are committed to redress and correct the legacy of apartheid and colonialism. Those parties that are playing a divisive and toxic role should not be considered.”
According to Mbalula, coalition partners must pledge to uphold common values such as stability, accountability, ethics, integrity, community involvement, good governance, respect for the constitution and the rule of law, social justice and equity, human dignity, non-racialism, and gender equality.
“Coalitions must be based on a common minimum programme that focuses measurable targets to service delivery and development in the communities,” he said.
The ANC NEC has tasked Mbalula with overseeing and coordinating the implementation of a coalition guiding framework across all ANC structures, with the assistance of a team of NEC members who will make up a National Task Team.
The members of the National Task Team include the Secretary General (as the Convenor), Deputy Secretary General Maropene Ramokgopa, Deputy Secretary General Nomvula Mokonyane, David Makhura, Mdumiseni Ntuli, Barbara Creecy, Zuko Godlimpi, Thembi Nkadimeng, Parks Tau and Pemmy Majodina.
Mbalula said despite having significant political and ideological differences with some parties in the political landscape, the ANC has insisted that its coalition framework allows for the possibility of working with any party in a coalition government as long as it is in the public interest.
In the case of a municipality, the party with the highest number of votes should lead the coalition, and executive positions should be assigned proportionally to the votes obtained by coalition partners.
In situations where no party has a clear majority, a collective executive system should be implemented to ensure a stable and functional government, with parties represented proportionally based on their votes and taking collective responsibility.
“The party that has won the largest votes should lead the coalition in that municipality and executive positions should be allocated in proportion to the votes obtained by coalition partners. Coalition govt should reflect the will of the people,” said Mbalula.
“Where no party has a clear majority (50% plus one), the collective executive system should be instituted so that parties are presented in proportion to their votes and that they take collective responsibility to ensure a stable and functional government.”
The party also maintained that a threshold of a share of the electoral outcome should be introduced for representation in executives so that there is a degree of legitimacy regarding who qualifies to be part of the executive leadership of the coalition government.
Over the weekend, the NEC has adopted the Roadmap to 2024 National Election Candidate Selection presented by the Electoral Committee led by former President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Mbalula said it was further resolved that the rules and procedure for candidate selection be earmarked for the next NEC meeting scheduled for 22 to 23 June, 2023.
“The NEC resolved that the ANC will work hard to regain the trust of the majority of South Africans so that our country does not find itself in the unfortunate position of being governed by an unstable and incoherent “pact” or coalition at national level,” he said, adding that coalitions are a disaster for democracy.
The party’s 55th National Conference directed the NEC to develop a guiding paper on the ANC’s strategic perspective on coalition governments informed by a grave concern arising from the chaos and instability in hung municipalities.
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