SOWETAN SAYS | Residents bear brunt of impasse

03 July 2024 - 13:25
By SOWETAN
Gauteng ANC Leadership led by ANC Gauteng Provincial Secretary General Thembinkosi (TK) Nciza and head of elections Lebogang Maile brief the media after failed to announce new members of the Executive Council MEC's at Sandton in Johannesburg.
Image: Freddy Mavunda Gauteng ANC Leadership led by ANC Gauteng Provincial Secretary General Thembinkosi (TK) Nciza and head of elections Lebogang Maile brief the media after failed to announce new members of the Executive Council MEC's at Sandton in Johannesburg.

It was to be expected that negotiations between the DA and the ANC over the formation of a new Gauteng government would drag on and be characterised by some disagreements.

This is because both parties are so far apart ideologically and politically on how to best to advance the interests of the people of SA. This was evident in both parties’ manifestos before the general election.

But following the signing of the statement of intent to join the government of national unity (GNU) led by the ANC and a subsequent deal, we expected the ball to start rolling, not just nationally but even in Gauteng.

However, the current stalemate between the DA and ANC in Gauteng over the allocation of positions of MECs has proved that nothing is cast in stone. As a result, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has had to postpone the announcement of the provincial cabinet twice at the 11th hour after talks between DA and ANC reached a deadlock.

It took the intervention of the Luthuli House bosses to stop the planned announcement of MECs by Lesufi, as it was apparent the DA would not form part of the new cabinet. This would go against the position adopted by the DA to form part of the GNU, which it stated openly that also depends on cooperation in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

That the bickering between the two parties has dragged the process of appointing MECs for this long is indicative that they are negotiating for themselves rather than the people of Gauteng.

While the DA has every right to demand MEC roles proportional to the support it received in the elections, it must be reasonable in its demands not to drag this any further. The ANC equally must accept the reality that it no longer enjoys the support of most people in Gauteng and be humble enough in accepting power sharing proportionately.

Gauteng residents stand to lose more if this impasse between the DA and ANC over a new government persists. Without MECs appointed service delivery and allocation of budgets will be delayed. Equally important is, there is no way of knowing how public money is used when political heads are not in office to be held accountable through the legislature.