Jostling about governance in the Cape Town metro continued on Friday with no apparent solution imminent.
The Democratic Alliance's tenuous hold on power in the city is being threatened by the Independent Democrats' determination to pursue its quest for changing the executive mayor system to an executive committee system.
Should an ID motion to this effect get through council, it would substantially weaken the DA's grip on the city.
The ID has the support of the African National Congress, but will also need additional support from smaller parties to ensure the adoption of a motion it intends putting before the council.
'Do not want the city government to be destabilised' The DA has 90 seats on the 210-seat council, the ANC 81, the ID 23, and the rest is split between smaller parties, all bar one currently backing the DA.
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Confirming to Sapa on Friday that the ANC will support the ID motion, ANC Western Cape chairperson James Ngculu said the DA should stick to its election manifesto, which clearly called for an executive committee to run the city.
Now that the DA had "tasted power" it was being "dishonourable" and reneging on its election promise to institute an executive committee system.
While the ANC was steadfast in its preference for the executive mayor system, it would nevertheless support the ID motion, because that party was correct in trying to implement what it promised in its own election manifesto - an executive committee system, Ngculu said.
However, the DA has called on the ID and ANC to cease their "mindless and destructive" activities and commit themselves to taking Cape Town forward.
"The people of Cape Town want stability and delivery. They do not want the city government to be destabilised," DA negotiations spokesman Ryan Coetzee said.
"Now that Western Cape MEC for local government (Richard Dyanti) has made it clear that he will not entertain a change from the mayoral committee system to the executive committee system, there is no point in the ID or the ANC pursuing a change of system in order to bring the city government down," he said.
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