ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says the issue of coalitions is high on the agenda of the National Executive Committee that is meeting this weekend.
ANC head of political education David Makhura, who leads party matters on coalitions, will give a report to the NEC on the work that has been done.
This comes after the ANC/EFF coalition ousted the DA from Mogale City this week.
The ousting of the DA came after ANC Gauteng provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi had said a few weeks ago that they wanted to wrestle all the municipalities from the opposition in the province.
This was after the ANC-EFF coalition had also removed the DA from Ekurhuleni.
But ActionSA has tabled a motion of no confidence to remove Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad from the position. Amad, from Al Jama-ah, was backed by the ANC and the EFF to take over from Mpho Phalatse in January.
Mbalula said on Friday, ahead of the start of the NEC meeting, that coalitions will form part of the discussions on Saturday.
He said they get into alliance with the EFF because they are left-wing parties who share a common objective of uplifting poor communities.
“The discussion of today in the NEC will evaluate all the work that has been done because we have massive coalitions in the country post the local government elections. We are getting into these coalition arrangements of cooperation, not by choice or default but we look at what is strategic for the ANC. What we wanted out of these coalitions is stability to run local government. But equally we want to work with people who are going to advance the interests of our people on the ground,” said Mbalula.
If the EFF was happy to work with the ANC over that common objective the ruling party had no problem.
Mbalula said they have not been in government in Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay metro for eight years.
But after 2021 Eugene Johnson of the ANC was elected mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, but she was removed in a motion of no confidence in September last year.
He said they don’t get into coalitions because they want something in return.
“We don’t get into coalitions with a cap in hand asking for anything,” said Mbalula.
He said ANC leaders in Gauteng have been in contact with national officials at Luthuli House on their views on coalitions.
“Comrades in Gauteng have been working with the national office bearers seeking guidance in terms of perspective and implementing the approach of cooperation and co-governance in some of the municipalities in the province,” he said.
He added that Makhura, who leads an ANC team on coalition, will table a report on coalitions in the country.
The NEC will discuss the matter on Saturday.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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