Behind closed doors, talks about coalitions talks have become the focal point of our political discourse.
There is a lot of talk about who will get what and the conditions that will be attached to such coalition talks.
These developments are challenging in the sense that one cannot afford to miss newspaper headlines on coalition talks.
The speed with which these talks took place, one cannot help but voice a thought that they are now the centre of discussion on social networks, and the source of endless discussion at bus stops and taxi ranks.
EFF will not form coalitions with either the DA or the ANC
It is against this background that I have noted that it appears as if the ANC seems more fascinated with coalition talks in order to keep Tshwane, Joburg and Nelson Mandela Bay metros from opposition parties.
Understanding the importance of being in charge of these big metros, obviously one will be worried that they are slipping away from the ANC, although this happened through a legitimate process.
The ANC's top six leaders, Jessie Duarte, Gwede Mantashe, Baleka Mbete, President Jacob Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa and Zweli Mkhize.Picture Credit: Thulani Mbele
Not to sound controversial, I hold the view that the ANC should just let go of these talks as they are not the main problem the party should be concerned about.
These talks are not doing any justice to the ANC to do the correct introspection.
Therefore, the ANC leadership should rather spent sleepless nights worrying and deliberating on the party's performance and subsequently its failure to get the required votes to win the City of Tshwane.
'Our offices feel like a graveyard' - City of Joburg staff nervous about change in administration
I am of the view that the ANC should start asking itself why it failed to garner enough votes to retain the capital city's metro - Tshwane.
As a Tshwane resident and a member of the ANC, I believe that this metro is more important as it is the domicile of the Union Buildings, the official work place of the president, the home of all national departments entrusted with government programmes.
Also, most of the ministers stay in this city because of its proximity to their workplaces.
Having said that, as Pretorians, I think it would be fair to say that a large chunk of the middle class, who are also part of the Tshwane electorate, are employed by the government.
Therefore, the ANC should ask itself why it was rejected by the Tshwane electorate.
This is very critical in a sense that it provides an opportunity to address the disjuncture between the ANC and the City of Tshwane electorate which inevitably contributed to it losing the elections.
The ANC should not just introspect but also be more pragmatic in addressing the problem of losing Tshwane.
Those who do not really care about the ANC losing Tshwane may attribute the loss to low voter turnout, but I I don't see this as a contributing factor because the mere fact that people didn't go out to vote certainly means that there's a problem which informed their decision to disengage.
Another scapegoat being used by those who care less is their argument about the timing of the deployment of comrade Thoko Didiza as a mayoral candidate.
It is unfortunate that those not willing to dig deep into the challenges confronting the ANC in Tshwane are using Didiza's candidacy to run away from the leadership responsibilities during this difficult time for the movement.
What transpired in Tshwane's public space should not be attributed as the main reason for the poor performance because there are much more serious problems at play.
Therefore, it is up to the ANC and those cadres deployed at all government structures to start asking critical questions which will provide answers to why the party's performance in the capital city was so poor.
Failure to do so will mean even bigger problems for the ANC come the national and provincicial elections in 2019.
Curtis Singo is a public servant. He writes in his personal capacity
ANC must worry about losing metros than coalitions
Behind closed doors, talks about coalitions talks have become the focal point of our political discourse.
There is a lot of talk about who will get what and the conditions that will be attached to such coalition talks.
These developments are challenging in the sense that one cannot afford to miss newspaper headlines on coalition talks.
The speed with which these talks took place, one cannot help but voice a thought that they are now the centre of discussion on social networks, and the source of endless discussion at bus stops and taxi ranks.
EFF will not form coalitions with either the DA or the ANC
It is against this background that I have noted that it appears as if the ANC seems more fascinated with coalition talks in order to keep Tshwane, Joburg and Nelson Mandela Bay metros from opposition parties.
Understanding the importance of being in charge of these big metros, obviously one will be worried that they are slipping away from the ANC, although this happened through a legitimate process.
Not to sound controversial, I hold the view that the ANC should just let go of these talks as they are not the main problem the party should be concerned about.
These talks are not doing any justice to the ANC to do the correct introspection.
Therefore, the ANC leadership should rather spent sleepless nights worrying and deliberating on the party's performance and subsequently its failure to get the required votes to win the City of Tshwane.
'Our offices feel like a graveyard' - City of Joburg staff nervous about change in administration
I am of the view that the ANC should start asking itself why it failed to garner enough votes to retain the capital city's metro - Tshwane.
As a Tshwane resident and a member of the ANC, I believe that this metro is more important as it is the domicile of the Union Buildings, the official work place of the president, the home of all national departments entrusted with government programmes.
Also, most of the ministers stay in this city because of its proximity to their workplaces.
Having said that, as Pretorians, I think it would be fair to say that a large chunk of the middle class, who are also part of the Tshwane electorate, are employed by the government.
Therefore, the ANC should ask itself why it was rejected by the Tshwane electorate.
This is very critical in a sense that it provides an opportunity to address the disjuncture between the ANC and the City of Tshwane electorate which inevitably contributed to it losing the elections.
The ANC should not just introspect but also be more pragmatic in addressing the problem of losing Tshwane.
Those who do not really care about the ANC losing Tshwane may attribute the loss to low voter turnout, but I I don't see this as a contributing factor because the mere fact that people didn't go out to vote certainly means that there's a problem which informed their decision to disengage.
Another scapegoat being used by those who care less is their argument about the timing of the deployment of comrade Thoko Didiza as a mayoral candidate.
It is unfortunate that those not willing to dig deep into the challenges confronting the ANC in Tshwane are using Didiza's candidacy to run away from the leadership responsibilities during this difficult time for the movement.
What transpired in Tshwane's public space should not be attributed as the main reason for the poor performance because there are much more serious problems at play.
Therefore, it is up to the ANC and those cadres deployed at all government structures to start asking critical questions which will provide answers to why the party's performance in the capital city was so poor.
Failure to do so will mean even bigger problems for the ANC come the national and provincicial elections in 2019.
Curtis Singo is a public servant. He writes in his personal capacity
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos