SELF DESTRUCTION? SA president Jacob Zuma’s party has not done well in the recently held August 3 municipal elections, which might force the party to for some self introspection.
elections, it is facing its sternest test in post-independence South Africa as opposition parties eat into its
share of the political space..
Following an election preceded by a series of controversies such as the so-called Nkandlagate where
President Jacob Zuma was said to have unfairly benefitted from state funds during the construction of
his rural home, the alleged influence of the beleaguered Gupta family on the government and ruling
party, through “tenderpreneurship”, which benefitted party cadres and the imposition of candidates in
some key regions, the ANC has faced formidable opposition from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) during the polls held last Wednesday.
ANC has lost the Nelson Mandela Bay to bitter rivals DA, which is a major embarrassment as the city
metropolitan is named after its late world famous member and ex- President Nelson Mandela.
In a move seen as a “desperate,” the ANC initially sought to challenge the outcome but later rescinded
the decision.
Meanwhile the Julius Malema EFF stands to be the “kingmaker” in some metropolitan administrations.
The DA also retained its traditional stronghold, the city of Cape Town and Midvaal.
In the country commercial capital, the ANC has been forced to seek a coalition after failing to get an
outright majority while in the nation’s capital Tshwane, the DA prevailed though it also needs to form a coalition.
In Ekurhuleni, which most political analysts, thought was a sure win, also turned the tables
unfavourably for the ANC’s Mzwandile Mzansi, who came t short of winning an outright majority in the
garnering only 48.64 percent of the votes, giving it 109 seats in the 224-seat council and forcing the
party to negotiate a coalition with another party to secure government in the municipality despite
being the dominant party.
But previously, the ruling party had had a comfortable victory in these areas during all previous polls
held there since 1994.
The ruling party only found solace in the fact it maintained overall lead at 53,91%, nationally followed
by DA with 26, 89% percent while new kid on the bloc EFF recorded 8,2%.
The waning fortunes of the continent’s oldest liberation movement, which was founded in 1912, have
been attributed to a string of controversies.
Hailed for leading the country’s from Apartheid resulting in independence in 1994, the party has in
recent times lurched from crisis to crisis, most linked to its leader Zuma.
Most recently, it emerged the Gupta family, an Indian-South African business family whose most notable
members are the brothers Ajay, Atul, Rajesh Gupta as well as nephew Varun Gupta influenced cabinet appointments.
In March, the Constitutional Court bruised Zuma’s image when it ruled he failed to uphold, defend and
respect the Constitution in the Nkandla scandal.
These issues not only enraged the opposition and the public but also caused internal divisions within the ANC itself.
There was also a backlash concerning the issue of the electronic tolling system and the imposition of
ANC’s Thoko Didiza as mayoral candidate for the capital city – Pretoria.
Supporters that have quit the party expressed their disgruntlement.
“We would like to teach ANC a lesson the party would never forget,” said Takalani Ndou of Mamelodi in
Pretoria.
“We love our liberation party, which is ANC, but the level of corruption, corrupt relations with the
Guptas, imposition of candidates as well as cadre deployment are the issues we hated our party for,”
adds Ndou.
Nkemeleng Mashishi of Atteridgeville, says: “ My children, husband and I belong to ANC but this time,
we agreed as a family to donate our votes to either DA or EFF.”
As was predicted by political analysts, last week the ANC will have to form a coalition government
Earlier on, ANC chief whip, Jackson Mthembu, had been still insisting that said South Africans still
trusted the ruling party.
“We are quite humbled and very happy that people of South Africa still trust the African National
Congress. Of course we have had setbacks in areas like the Nelson Mandela Bay but we are
magnanimous in victory and also magnanimous in defeat because we are democrats,” Mthembu says.
But clearly the people spoke and voters like Ndou, clearly prevailed this time round. -– savious.kwinika@cajnewsafrica.com Twitter@saviouskwinika
@See also Editor’s Note
– Gaurdian
