Cape Town - A veil of secrecy surrounds the ongoing coalition talks in hung councils across the Western Cape, as parties thrash out the finer details of deals aimed at breaking the deadlock in municipalities where no outright winners emerged during last week's polls.
Party leaders have been tight-lipped about negotiations as talks drag on in the municipalities of Bitou in Plettenberg Bay, Hessequa in Riversdal, Witzenberg in Ceres, Knysna, Kannaland, Prince Albert, Beaufort West and Laingsburg.
The ANC is hoping to bounce back after losing control of the Western Cape municipalities it previously governed by entering into coalitions with smaller parties to secure control in at least five of the town councils.
The DA, in turn, hopes to seal the deal in the hung councils and win control of all 30 municipalities in the province.
Informed DA sources said while Hessequa and Witzenberg were a sure thing, negotiations in the other municipalities were still "touch and go".
The ANC and DA conceded negotiations were at an advanced stage, but as yet no signed agreement had been reached in any of the hung councils.
ANC insiders claimed the party was making progress in Bitou, Kannaland, Prince Albert, Beaufort West and Laingsburg, with horse-trading now revolving mostly around political positions and common values.
ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs would not be drawn on the details of discussions, but said the ANC had learnt some hard lessons about coalitions during their previous term in office.
"We definitely learnt a lot about the difficulties involving coalitions. We are trying to ensure that the coalitions are not about quiet deals for individuals, but rather about empowering and unlocking opportunities for the communities, especially in the rural areas," he added.
Jacobs said negotiations were on track and they were "almost there".
The DA's negotiation had shifted to a national level, where a final decision would be made about who was best suited for a DA coalition.
In Beaufort West, where the DA and the ANC were in talks with political newcomers, the Karoo Democratic Force (KDF), negotiations were still sketchy with both parties indicating they were hopeful of a positive outcome by the end of the week.
KDF could not be reached for comment, but locals said the party was mostly made up of disgruntled ANC members who were sidelined by the party.
Icosa president Jeffrey Donson, who holds the upper hand in the Kannaland municipality, said negotiations were "at a sensitive stage".
Party insiders said provincial DA leader Patricia de Lille was on Wednesday still locked in talks with the party leadership in Gauteng and was due back late on Wednesday night ahead of the City of Cape Town's inaugural council meeting.
DA federal executive chairman James Selfe said in order to establish well-governed municipalities and metros that "are able to create jobs, deliver better services and bring years of corruption to a complete stop", the DA-led governments would "make use of the pool of skills and talent that already exist in many of the existing administrations".
Selfe reiteratedthere "will be no purging' of staff - every person who works hard, in the best interests of the people, and is qualified to do the job, will be welcome".
Selfe added the electorate had given parties a clear mandate to form a government that "gives effect to change, by kicking out the ANC which has failed them by putting corruption first and services last".
"The DA will continue with all negotiations in the spirit of this mandate, which we fully respect and intend to uphold," he said.
Cape Argus