Mantashe saves ANC

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe File picture: Dumisani Sibeko/Independent Media

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe File picture: Dumisani Sibeko/Independent Media

Published Dec 14, 2016

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Johannesburg- The ANC on Tuesday night faced the prospect of losing Ekurhuleni, the only metro it governs in Gauteng, if it did not commit in writing to a time frame to reincorporate Matatiele back into KwaZulu-Natal by end of this month.

This would see mayor Mzwandile Masina removed, plunging the governing party into chaos and totally losing Gauteng, the country’s economic hub, already under the rule of a DA-EFF coalition in Tshwane Joburg and Mogale City.

But ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe on Tuesday night managed to save the governing coalition in Ekurhuleni following a warning from African Independent Congress (AIC) president Mandla Galo as make-or-break negotiations between his party and the ANC were under way in Mount Ayliff, Eastern Cape.

“If the ANC does not come up with something by December 31, we will pull out of the coalition. We don’t care because we have nothing to lose,” Galo threatened. “If we do that they will lose the Ekurhuleni metro and Rustenburg,” he said in an interview earlier.

Galo spoke to The Star as Mantashe led a delegation to meet their counterparts from the AIC, led by secretary-general Mahlubi Jafta, after the breakaway party demanded in October that the ruling party commit to implement the decision to reincorporate Matatiele into KwaZulu-Natal.

Mantashe was understood to be accompanied by, among others, ANC Eastern Cape deputy chair Sakhumzi Somyo, provincial treasurer Helen August, national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa and Eastern Cape Local Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Fikile Xasa.

His delegation and their counterparts from the AIC finally committed to chart a roadmap towards the reincorporation of Matatiele back to KZN. A source said the meeting lasted from midday until after 7pm.

“There was an agreement to have a five-a-side committee that will look into the nitty gritties of the coalition. That should be done by January 15,” Galo said.

“I’m happy as the president of AIC in the way the negotiations were handled. It is clear that the ANC is serious this time around.”

Kodwa confirmed the agreement. “We agreed to meet as a committee to consider some of their demands. The main issue is redemarcation of Matatiele,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Galo had claimed that the ANC had wanted to conduct a survey to test the views of Matatiele if they wished to go to KZN, a move that prompted him to warn of pulling out of the coalition.

“If the ANC does not come up with something by December 31, we will pull out of the coalition. We don’t care because we have nothing to lose,” Galo said.

The AIC entered into a coalition agreement in August in a bid to help the ANC retain Ekurhuleni after it could not win an outright majority in the municipal elections.

One of its demands as part of entering into the coalition was for Matatiele to be returned to KZN.

Galo, who was not part of the negotiations, told The Star that his colleagues had informed him that the ANC was attempting to delay the movement of Matatiele to its former province.

“It is not ready to implement the decision. It comes with a proposal for a survey and I’m questioning that as the president of AIC,” he said.

“What kind of a survey do they want to do, because the results of the referendum are the ones they should be looking at. They should just implement those results, we don’t care about other issues,” the tough-talking Galo said.

He also said his party had previously made it clear to the ANC not to reinvent the wheel on the views of the Matatiele residents in light of the referendum that was undertaken by Cogta when the late Sicelo Shiceka was the minister in the late 2000s.

“We have information that Shiceka had make a strong recommendation that the ANC has no leg to stand on.”

Galo said his delegation was firm that redemarcation of Matatiele should be done before the 2019 elections.

“Before the end of 2017-18, it must be under KwaZulu-Natal. We are not compromising on that one.”

Galo stated that what the ANC-led government needed to do was to introduce a bill in Parliament to amend the boundaries of the Eastern Cape and Matatiele.

The Matatiele saga dates back to 2005, when the ANC took a decision to move the town to KZN, and Umzimkhulu to the Eastern Cape.

This had taken place at a time when Khutsong in Gauteng was moved to North West.

The people of Matatiele, organised under the banner of the Matatiele Mass Action Organising Committee, had challenged the demarcation up to the Constitutional Court in 2006 before the municipal polls.

The court had ordered the government to remedy the situation within 18 months. When Cogta conducted a referendum to gauge the views of the people, the majority preferred to be in KZN, but this did not stop the government from taking the town to KZN, against the wishes of the people.

This was contrary to the government's stance taken on Khutsong, which was returned to Gauteng after violent protests.

“We did not become violent and damage government property like Khutsong, which was rewarded by going back to their former province after going on a rampage,” Galo pointed out.

The Star

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