In less than a week, two ANC mayors have been asked to step down.
Questions are being raised about the ANC’s sudden appetite to remove problematic mayors in struggling municipalities around the country.
This comes after the party recalled two of their mayors in a short space of time – Sipho Radebe in Emfuleni Local Municipality and Douglas Maimane in Madibeng Local Municipality.
In a statement on Tuesday, the party said it is acting in the best interests of its constituency.
“The ANC remains committed to municipalities that are singularly focused on the needs of communities, the delivery of basic services, the creation of jobs and economic opportunity, and the safety of our people.
“That responsibility rests on our public representatives and equally on the public servants who administer our municipalities, and we expect both to discharge it diligently. The discipline of the movement’s public representatives remains under careful watch and will continue to be upheld, consistently and lawfully, in the interests of the communities we serve.
“The needs of the people come before the ambitions of any individual,” said ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu.
Double standards
But political analyst, Wayne Duvenhage told The Citizen on Wednesday that the ANC could simply be doing some last-minute manoeuvring before the elections later this year.
“The ANC is doing crisis management in certain areas. They are in a position to change a mayoral candidate, especially if there is criticism and he is not performing. They want to give the impression that they are acting against non-performing people.
Duvenhage said they cannot do this in all areas, including in Johannesburg.
“I think Johannesburg is a lot more problematic. It’s a coalition government, and they need the buy-in of other smaller parties. This is making the coalition of coalition parties a lot more sensitive, and it’s a lot more difficult to bring the changes you want,” he said.
Mbalula defends Dada Morero
Late last year, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party would not recall Joburg mayor Dada Morero because it would not be wise to recall a sitting mayor in an election year.
Mbalula said the ANC in Johannesburg should rather focus on winning the upcoming elections.
Duvenhage said he believes the ANC is keeping some ineffective mayors in their jobs because of a political agenda.
“But at the core, the ANC is doing crisis management, and the application of their actions is different from one context to another,” he said.
ANC loses ward to DA in Emfuleni
According to the ANC, Radebe was asked to resign as mayor of Emfuleni due to service delivery failures. But this sudden move came after the DA won their first fully black ward in the area.
On the other hand, Maimane had been recalled because of internal ANC disputes and allegations that he tried to decampaign the party ahead of the elections. He had taken the party to court challenging his removal.
“The matters concerning the Madibeng Local Municipality are the subject of a legal process, and the ANC will allow that process to take its proper course. The ensuing recall is a new process which will be matched with proper legal action on an urgent basis,” said Bhengu.