ANC councillors allegedly secure contracts as coalition loss looms. DA Cilliers Brink cites bus lane delays amid claims of political donations.
Many hope the looting season is over for those in charge of budgets and tender awards, but fear opportunistic parties would capitalise one last time for fear of not being re-elected in the upcoming local elections.
“This is a primitive fear among people that something like that is about to happen,” said political analyst Piet Croucamp.
Fear of losing power drives last looting spree
“It’s not if every person working for the state can decide on which day they can steal what; corruption is a system. Some people have access and some don’t,” he said.
“There’s always the fear that you will be called out – and if the authorities don’t call you out, your colleagues who feel excluded might call you out.” Croucamp said looting is complicated.
“Elected councillors don’t always have access to the system; their way of getting access is through tenders. That system is often a closed system that only some people have access to.”
Tshwane’s DA mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said the party suspected this is exactly what is happening in the city.
It started with massive unauthorised spending on water tankers and security companies linked to ANC leaders, Brink said.
“We have also heard unconfirmed allegations of ANC politicians approaching service providers to give money to the ANC and other parties in the coalition.
Opening space for opposition growth
“In the meantime, most of these contractors cannot finish contracts like the bus lane upgrades on Lynnwood Road,” he said.
Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) Tshwane caucus leader Grandi Theunissen said the combination of ANC decline and voter fatigue after 30 years is opening space for opposition growth – particularly for parties like FF Plus that are consolidating support in key constituencies.
“This points to another highly contested and coalition-dependent election in Tshwane,” he said.
ANC councillors and connected actors in Tshwane appear to be operating in a high-pressure “last chance to eat” phase.
With the party’s long-term decline accelerating and the November local elections approaching, there is a perception that they are rushing to secure remaining tenders, contracts and networks.
This is fuelled by the growing sentiment that there is a probability of a FF Plus and DA ruling coalition.