A planned three-day water shutdown in some parts of Johannesburg, including the metro centre where the City of Johannesburg council sits, has given political parties elbow room to finalise coalition negotiations.
The city’s first council meetings, initially scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday, had to be postponed to November 22-23, according to mayor Mpho Moerane, due to the impending water cuts.
The meeting would have been the first sitting of council following the local government elections on November 1.
While declining to comment on coalition discussions, Moerane said: “Rand Water has a planned water shutdown and in terms of the Covid-19 regulations, you can’t have 300 people and over in one room without water for hours. Because of that the meeting has been moved to November 22.”
In a memorandum sent to councillors on Saturday, City of Johannesburg acting city manager Floyd Brink said the water shutdown would directly affect Randburg, Roodepoort, Johannesburg west and south as well as a number of other areas, including Soweto.
“The availability of water and good sanitation is critical, therefore the city must comply with the occupational health and safety act and disaster management act,” Brink wrote.
According to the municipal structures act, political parties have until November 23 to form governments, which is 14 working days after the election results were declared.
In cases of hung councils where coalitions could not be successfully negotiated to form a government, by-elections could be declared within 90 days. These would need to be declared by the provincial MEC for co-operative governance & traditional affairs.
ActionSA president Herman Mashaba ruled out any possibility of working with the EFF at the weekend when he rejected a coalition deal with the red berets and the ANC.
In his statement, Mashaba said the primary issue was the deal was dependent on the support of the ANC when ActionSA had vowed not to work with the ANC.
EFF leader Julius Malema is said to have told party supporters in Mthatha on Saturday, where he gifted AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo a R1.8m Mercedes-Benz SUV, that the EFF wanted to govern Tshwane and was willing to see the ANC control Ekurhuleni and have Mashaba in charge in Johannesburg.
Mashaba said ActionSA would meet with the DA and other parties to continue talks of a coalition.
“Negotiations are ongoing with the DA and other parties in order to make up the numbers. We’ll be meeting in the next day or so to finalise agreements but we’ve got a long way to go and are still talking,” he said.
Mashaba maintained he was not after the mayoral chain, adding he wanted a stable coalition where all parties involved would work towards delivering services and putting people first.
Asked about what happens next since Mashaba had shut down their offer, EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu declined to comment.
“We don’t talk to media about these things. We’ll give a statement once everything has been concluded,” Shivambu said.
Meanwhile, ACDP president Kenneth Meshoe confirmed discussions were ongoing with political parties.
The ACDP got three seats in the Joburg council.
“We have a meeting tomorrow with leaders of the opposition, not the ANC but DA,” he said.
IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the party’s coalition task team would make an announcement today.
Patriotic Alliance president Gayton McKenzie, whose party got a total of eight seats, announced through social media that he would address his constituents and update them on coalition talks yesterday.
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