President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on ANC officials and branch leaders to go all out when campaigning for the ANC in order to deliver A total victory for the party in the upcoming elections.
Ramaphosa said those who said the ANC was dead would be disappointed by the party’s victory at the polls, adding that coalitions had resulted in instability in most of the major metros where more than one party was responsible.
“The frustrating experience of dysfunctional coalition governments has shown that they do not work for the people but for political deal-makers intent on advancing their own personal interests,” Ramaphosa said.
“Service delivery suffers while the development agenda grinds to a halt. Replacing this bitter experience of chaos, instability and dysfunctionality at national and provincial levels will be a disaster that our country cannot afford,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the ANC would mobilise support to ensure a decisive victory.
“The ANC is ready to launch a formidable campaign that will engage citizens and every sector of society to seek a decisive mandate from the people to continue advancing the transformation project ... It is therefore imperative that the progressive forces, led by the ANC, campaign for a clear majority to ensure stability and sustained progress in our country,” he said.
A recent coalition dialogue hosted by the ANC proposed that there should not be more than one motion of no confidence to ensure stability.
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula said coalitions had taken service delivery backwards, adding that the ANC differed with those who said coalitions were part of a maturing democracy.
Mbalula said during a two day dialogue in Cape Town: “It is the degree of effect on the functionality of government systems in a given context that determines whether coalitions are good or bad. In democratic rationale, coalitions reflect split public opinion and a degree of political fragmentation where no party has been given a clear mandate to govern on its own. This is currently the case in 80 municipalities across the country.’
Last April, DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube introduced a draft constitutional amendment to limit instances where a motion of no confidence could be brought against the president or a premier on frivolous political grounds.
During the dialogue, Gwarube said the instability of municipalities was due to frivolous MOCs, adding that legislation would be the only instrument to correct this anomaly.
“We are of the view that the abuse of MOCs has created the instability that we have seen in local government. We believe that while MOCs are important in ensuring accountability they can also create the instability that we have seen because MOCs have been abused,” she said. | Sunday Independent