Gauteng coalitions are hanging by a thread as tensions rise between Action SA and its partners.

The bone of contention is Action SA's constant attempts to rope in the EFF into Gauteng governments, according to Herman Mashaba's coalition partners.

The party is in coalition agreements with the DA, COPE, IFP, FF Plus and the ACDP in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and the City of Johannesburg.

During Action SA's press conference on Monday, Mashaba said it was a mathematical fact that the only option viable in Ekurhuleni was the support of the EFF in order for the coalition to survive a pending motion of no confidence from the ANC.

Mashaba said the EFF [can] bring in their 81 councillors to be committee chairpersons in exchange for their support.

The EFF would not be members of the coalition. He said the proposal was shut down, as evidenced in the election of Section 79 committee chairpersons in Joburg.

In a statement on Tuesday, the multiparty coalition members said Action SA's press briefing violated aspects of the coalition agreement and rebuffed the established conflict resolution mechanisms.

“The attempts by Action SA to bring the EFF into the Gauteng governments has been a feature of the coalition discussions from the start. All other parties have stringently rejected these attempts. Just over a week ago, Action SA declared a dispute on the matter, and its leader, Herman Mashaba, gave the Coalition Oversight Group 48 hours to meet to resolve the dispute, thus invoking the coalition’s dispute resolution mechanism,” the statement read.

The Coalition Oversight Group reiterated that, under no circumstances, would the EFF be brought into our Gauteng coalitions

“In addition, statements made at the media conference also misrepresent the facts, and wrongly claim that the Democratic Alliance approached Action SA to facilitate the EFF’s entry into our coalition governments.

“The DA merely asked Action SA, given their good relations with the EFF, to establish how EFF intended voting in the election of committee chairpersons in Johannesburg,” the statement read.

It continued that coalitions were stable in Tshwane and Joburg, adding that mechanisms had been put in place in Ekurhuleni to ensure as much stability as possible. 

Just last week, Mashaba stepped down as a councillor of the City of Joburg to focus on building the party ahead of the 2024 general election.

In a statement, Action SA noted the coalition partners' statement, saying: “It does not change our serious concern that the people of Ekurhuleni could once again be led by the exact ANC govt (SIC) they asked us to remove just months ago, if the coalition does not act decisively.”