Coalition deal for Bay council not yet sealed

DA, UDM, EFF deny rumours, insist ‘we are still talking’

The control of Nelson Mandela Bay’s municipal council continued to hang in the balance yesterday as the DA pressed on with coalition talks with minority political parties ahead of Monday’s council elections.

The coalition discussions – which include engagements between the ANC and its potential coalition parties, and between the DA and its potential partners – are directed at determining the leadership of a number of hung municipal councils which emerged from last week’s local government elections.

Neither the DA nor the ANC gained an outright majority in the Bay, which has forced the parties into seeking coalitions towards securing a majority of seats in the council.

The DA, which secured the most votes, holds the upper hand as it only needs four more seats to secure a majority.

Insiders close to the UDM – which has been courted as a potential partner by the DA – said the party had already sealed a deal with the DA for the Bay, but the party yesterday denied this.

UDM regional chairman Mongameli Bobani, according to the insiders, is poised to serve as deputy mayor of the metro should the party agree to partner with the DA.

But UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said yesterday that his party had not yet made a deal with any political party.

“We are still talking. I doubt the council meeting will even sit on Monday next week. Nothing has been decided yet,” Holomisa said.

Asked if any deal had been made with political parties in the metro, DA mayor-elect Athol Trollip said negotiations with parties in Johannesburg were continuing.

Trollip was referring to talks between the DA and EFF, which resumed at 10am yesterday in Johannesburg, following initial, exploratory talks on Sunday afternoon.

Both parties remained tight-lipped about progress and the content of discussions.

However, the rumour mill was working overtime yesterday as information became harder to come by and misinformation was being spread by certain party political sources.

This has led to the DA and EFF furiously denying reports, apparently being put out by ANC sources and published by certain media outlets, that the DA had offered the EFF the mayoralty of Tshwane in exchange for a DA mayoralty of Johannesburg.

DA federal executive chairman James Selfe dismissed such reports in strong terms.

“The DA dismisses ANC-inspired rumours that coalition agreements have been reached at this stage. This includes Luthuli House’s desperate spin that the DA was horse-trading control of metros,” Selfe said.

“These are the last kicks of a dying horse, desperate to cling to power using misinformation.

“The DA will continue with its negotiations in earnest with the clear objective of putting together governments that give effect to the majority of the electorate’s rejection of the ANC and its management of local government.”

EFF national spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi confirmed that no discussions about positions of power for the EFF had been taking place.

At the same time, he was evasive on the issue of negotiations.

Asked whether the EFF preferred a red-and-blue coalition (with the DA) or a red-and-green coalition (with the ANC), he replied: “Red and black!”

The EFF is running parallel negotiation processes with the ANC, the DA and the IFP on possible coalitions.

By late yesterday, while party leaders in the Bay were still mum about which party they would be partnering with, Bobani, in a second interview with The Herald, excitedly said that, on Monday, the city would have a government.

“We have not signed a deal with anyone yet. But by Monday there will be a new mayor, deputy and executive in the metro,” he said.

“There will be a complete change of leadership to run this metro, come Monday.”

He refused to comment on whether he had been offered the position of deputy mayor.

“Nothing has been decided yet. The national leadership is busy with the negotiations,” Bobani said.

“UDM members and voters will decide which party we must partner with in this metro.

“Once the leadership has finalised negotiations with the ANC and the DA, they will notify us, and the leadership on the ground will take that message to our voters.”

On Sunday, a number of parties drafted their terms for coalitions.

Among others, the terms included commitments to basic service delivery, the creation of sustainable jobs and the removal of President Jacob Zuma from office.

Meanwhile, the ANC is yet to hold a by-election after its Ward 4 candidate, Nceba Dywili, was murdered last month.

Dywili won Ward 4 in Walmer township by 81.5%.

ANC elections head and former Bay council whip Litho Suka said his party would follow its internal processes after a vacancy had been officially declared in council.

Suka would not comment on coalition discussions.

“We are waiting on the negotiation process, which is happening at national level.”

UF Eastern Cape Bay secretary Mkhuseli Mtsila said they hoped negotiations would be finalised at the weekend.