Johannesburg - The African National Congress is prepared to take the opposition benches in the Johannesburg city council if Monday’s vote goes against the party, says mayor Parks Tau.
“The ANC greater Johannesburg regional executive committee has committed to continue serving the people of the City of Johannesburg in any leadership capacity, as a government or an opposition. I am an activist. I will continue serving the people of this country even if we become the opposition,” Tau told journalists, in his capacity as ANC greater Johannesburg region chairman, during a media briefing at the ANC regional offices on Sunday.
He said key initiatives the city had embarked on during his administration included youth entrepreneurship programmes, free WiFi hotspots, e-filling in public clinics, formalising hostels into family units, eradicating billing problems, and fighting corruption.
“In the interests of fighting corruption, the ANC-led Johannesburg became the first city in the country to appoint an integrity commissioner to assess all large contracts issued by the municipality,” Tau said.
The briefing came as Johannesburg is set to hold its post-elections inaugural meeting on Monday, which was postponed on Thursday this week, where the new leadership will be elected, including a mayor.
The ANC failed to win an outright majority in the Johannesburg metro in the August 3 municipal elections, meaning it needs to form a coalition with at least 15 councillors from other parties to govern in the city.
The ANC won 44.55 percent of the vote (121 of the 270 seats in the council), with the Democratic Alliance wining 38.37 percent (104 seats), and the Economic Freedom Fighters 11.09 percent (30 seats). The balance of the seats went to a number of smaller parties.
Though he declined to name potential partners, Tau said the ANC regional committee had already started coalition talks with smaller parties represented in the council, with negotiations having gone on until the early hours of Sunday morning.
“However, should a need arise that we assume an opposition position, we remain committed to protect our radical spatial and socio-economic transformation agenda to ensure that the quality of life in Johannesburg is equally desirable for all its residents.”
Tau joked that if he lost his mayoral position on Monday and the perks of the job, he still owned a bicycle and would use it to go to work.
ANC regional treasurer Geoff Makhubo said ANC councillors would not repeat the disruption witnessed in the City of Tshwane council on Friday, where ANC councillors heckled and tried to disrupt newly-elected mayor Solly Msimang of the DA.
“We are very disciplined in Johannesburg and we don’t expect our councillors to be disruptive. We will conduct ourselves, if we are on the other side, in terms of the rules of the council.
“In the eventuality that we are not the governing party, those who will be in charge can be assured that they will have a very tough time. Our job is to ensure that the agenda of socio-economic transformation is taken forth,” Makhubo said.
African News Agency