Kaya 959 Reporter
Democratic Alliance federal council chairperson Helen Zille says they were “very surprised” the EFF had voted with them in
The DA now sits with City of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Mogale City, Sedibeng and are likely to take over the Ethekwini Municipality.
Zille joined Phemelo Motene on Point of View to give insight on what has been unfolding in municipalities across the country.
Zille outlined that there was a great opportunity for the DA to bring service delivery back to the people of South Africa in spite of the way they got into power.
“If you are in an election and get 50%+, as we do and as we’ve done in he past 15 years in Cape Town. You don’t have absolute power, you are not dictators.”
“You are accountable to the committee system, which is a very powerful system, you are accountable to all the laws that require transparency, you are accountable too the opposition, you are accounable to the public.”
Also Read: DA celebrates victories in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni
On Deal with EFF
Zille made it very clear that there was no agreement with the EFF, and admitted that the DA anticipates and unstable minority government in many of the municipalities.
“We didn’t do a deal at all with the EFF, and we haven’t traditionally worked alongside the EFF, in fact our Fedex had a position not to vote for the EFF.”
“We are going to have to find a way to take decisions, pass budgets, find an integration plan, do all the thing you need to do in government, but we are not going to have a stable minority government. That is an enormous challenge. That’s why I say we are very sober minded, and a we are very focus on the job ahead.
Nelson Mandela Bay an ungovernable coalition
Zille spoke about how difficult it will be to govern councils such as Nelson Mandela Bay, who she says have 9 political parties sitting in council with different views on how things should be done.
The DA on Monday lost control of the metro after the smaller parties in Nelson Mandela Bay backed out of the deal with the DA because it would not meet their demands.
The small parties included Abantu Integrity Movement, the AIC, the UDM, the Northern Alliance and others.
“When 10 parties are in power for example, how are you going to run Nelson Mandela Bay? I think that that’s an ungovernable coalition.”
“There are 9 parties in that coalition, 9 parties that can say at any time, I don’t like this, she did this, I don’t like you, I am not going to have an argument with you.
“How are you ever going to have coherent policies on which the government is run, if every single portfolio in that government is run by a different party. How are you going to have coherent government there? I just don’t understand it. ”
Also Read: Democratic Alliance loses Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to the ANC by 1 vote
Conversations with the IFP in Ethekwini Municipality
Across the province the ANC continues to lose key municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal as the IFP-led coalition made inroads in ruling party strongholds.
Though conversation with the DA and IFP came to a deadlock after being approached by the ANC, the IFP has now decided to swing towards the DA, EFF and other smaller parties in the province grows,
“We are talking to the IFP, and we’ve been talking to the IFP for a long time in Ethekwini, as well as Richards Bay.”
“Things we going really well, until quite suddenly talks stopped and the IFP did announce that they are going with the ANC, and we realized that we won’t make any progress in Richards Bay or anywhere else.”
