ANC eyes its next target in Gauteng
The City of Tshwane’s government could follow in the footsteps of its neighbour to the south, Johannesburg, and see a shakeup in the composition of its executive—if the Gauteng African National Congress (ANC) gets its way.
With the ANC recently taking back the mayorships of two of Gauteng’s three metros (Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni), the party has another item on the agenda.
Speaking at a media briefing on 19 August, Gauteng Premier and ANC provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi said that the ANC had been approached to discuss a strategy to take back Tshwane.
The coalitions in Gauteng metros (Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni) have proven tumultuous over the years, with frequent changes in the executive.
Given that no single party received an outright majority in the 2021 local government elections, the Tshwane metropolitan municipality, which contributes around a quarter of Gauteng’s GDP, is governed by a coalition – as are the other metros in the province.
The current coalition in Tshwane has been consistent for the past year and a half.
It comprises the Democratic Alliance (DA), ActionSA, Vryheidsfront Plus (VF+), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and the African Christian Democratic Movement (ACDP). The DA’s Cillliers Brink serves as mayor.
After ousting DA mayors, the ANC served in the executive of both Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni under minority party mayors due to them and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) being unwilling to serve under one another (at the time).
This meant that, until recently, the ANC did not have a mayor in any of Gauteng’s metros.
However, public pressure against a decline in service delivery in metros and the subsequent backlash against the ANC (which President Cyril Ramaphosa said significantly contributed to their 2024 electoral decline) led to the ANC becoming more adamant about clinching back the mayoral chains.
In April 2024, the ANC’s Nkosindiphile Xhakaza took the mayoral seat from the party’s previously-backed Ekurhuleni mayor, Sivuyile Ngodwana, of the African Independent Congress (AIC).
Most recently, the ANC’s Dada Morero regained control of the mayorship in Johannesburg on 16 August following the resignation of Al Jama-Ah’s Kabelo Gwamanda, partly due to pressure from the ANC.
With the ANC now heading two-thirds of Gauteng’s metros, it is looking to make a clean sweep.
“In 2021, during local government elections, the ANC lost all three metros, and we politely took our stand in the opposition benches – it was only when those governments that were established collapsed that the ANC was requested to step in,” said Lesufi.
“From that period till today, two of the metros that we lost are now back where the ANC is at the helm of those two municipalities.
“There is a huge chance that can happen in Tshwane in the next few weeks,” he added.
“We want to consult our national leadership because there are various dynamics in Tshwane [and] we have to be sensitive to the relationship that has been established with the national government,” said Lesufi.
To achieve this, the ANC, which sports 75/214 seats in the Tshwane council, will need to court not only the support of those within the opposition – but also those within the current local government.
A party that has been touted as possibly swinging the pendulum is ActionSA, which was instrumental in the removal of Gwamanda and the assent of Morero as Johannesburg mayor.
Their conditions for support in Johannesburg included, among other issues, scrapping the R200 prepaid electricity surcharge and removing the Johannesburg and Tshwane speakers (the AIC Tshwane speaker still holds his office) to pave the way for ActionSA speakers.
ANC provincial secretary TK Nciza said that the ANC was concerned about service delivery problems in Tshwane.
“We believe there will be changes in Tshwane and we are engaging with Action SA and other parties about (the metro).”
However, unlike in Johannesburg, ActionSA is already part of the government in Tshwane, boasting several MMCs and the deputy mayorship position.
“ActionSA has communicated previously that we would vote to defeat a motion of no confidence [in Tshwane] and this remains the position the party currently,” Samkelo Mgobozi, ActionSA National Director of Communications, told The Citizen.
“We are currently undergoing a review of the performance of the Tshwane coalition government, but until otherwise indicated, we remain part of the current governing coalition,” he added.
Another party that could swing the vote is the VF+, which also has officials in government, holding MMC positions.
Holding a similar share of votes to ActionSA, the VF+ and the DA’s working relationship has been tumultuous of late.
Just this month, the VF+ and the DA’s working relationship in both the Oudtshoorn and Langeberg Municipalities soured, leading to a collapse of those coalitions. However, after these collapses, the two parties said that it would not impact other coalition agreements.
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