Politics.za: ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire

ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire

Farrel — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 15:17:00 -0500

It looks like Richard Diyanti’s move to grab the Cape Town council from the DA might be hitting a few snags. Firstly it seems that there are some in the ANC who are suffering from a bit of ‘democratic remorse’ and are thinking maybe you know they should just respect the outcome of the municipal election.

The second reason why it might hit a snag is oh so ironic. Back in 2002 when the ANC took control of the Cape Town municipality via floor crossing the DA took the ANC to court to try and get seats on the new created executive mayoral committee. If seats were to be given out according to proportion of votes received the DA would have received 4 of the 10 mayoral council seats. Except that the ANC successfully argues that the DA only had to be ‘broadly represented’ and not ‘directly represented’ and they were only given two seats on council and denied any portfolio positions.

And now this same ruling could come back and bite the ANC. According to this ruling the ANC may only be entitled to one or two seats with the ID also receiving a single seat and the DA the rest.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by hex

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:12:54 -0500

Well, I live in the Western Cape, and I don’t want Ncqulu or Skwatcha as Premier. The idea! Those shitheads! Sorry, I meant to say s**theads.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by Farrel

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 16:23:12 -0500

The former city manager Wallace Mgoki warned about a revolution by the poor dispossessed if this issue of land ownership by the whites in Cape Town persists. He said this when he took office in 2003. I think he is dead right.

What’s your feelings on the then ANC led council parcelling off land for affordable housing to developers in Big Bay only for them to quickly sell it and pocket the profits?

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by kevinadrianhughes@yahoo.com

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:55:29 -0500

As the last article suggests the ANC and it’s alliance partners consider the DA and Helen Zille to be public enemy #1. I do not think that the ANC is going to back down at this stage. If anything there is the possibility of Ebrahim Rasool being replaced as Premier at the next provincial ANC congress as many view him as a Mr. Zille. I agree the ANC in the Western Cape has a problem and the problem is that until now the provincial government has not been listening to the party that was elected to represent the people in 2004. I think that either John Ncqulu or Mcebisi Skwatcha should replace Rasool as the Western Cape premier.

I think the ANC has been more than accommodating of it’s opponents and should take a more leftward approach in dealing with it’s opponents.

I think if the ANC really wanted to hit back at the DA’s white constituents it could for instance freeze all foreign property sales in the Western Cape or prevent more property developments and estates from gobbling up farmland in order to address the urgent need for land resettlement of the dispossessed. That I think is the only way that SA can avoid becoming another Zimbabwe.

The former city manager Wallace Mgoki warned about a revolution by the poor dispossessed if this issue of land ownership by the whites in Cape Town persists. He said this when he took office in 2003. I think he is dead right.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by kevinadrianhughes@yahoo.com

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:41:46 -0500

ANC ‘not backing down on Zille’ 05/10/2006 08:11 – (SA)

Ronel Bester, Die Burger

Cape Town – The ANC on Wednesday denied it was reconsidering its position about a change in mayoral system in Cape Town.

Mcebisi Skwatsha, the party’s Western Cape secretary, said as far as he knew, the party had not altered its plan about the proposed change.

“But you must remember that the ANC was supporting the minister, who had decided to consider it. The decision remains with the relevant minister,” he added.

He also said he was not aware of any doubt that might have developed about the proposal.

Smuts Ngonyama, the ANC’s information chief, said he was not aware of any discord in the ANC about the issue.

He said the national leadership was consulted about the decision in advance. “As far as I know there are no plans to re-evaluate the position.”

ANC likely to discuss issue

According to Ngonyama, the proposed change to the government structure in Cape Town was not on the agenda for the ANC’s national executive committee meeting this weekend, but the Western Cape leadership might bring it up while discussing provincial reports.

Skwatsha confirmed that the proposal had been included in the Western Cape provincial report and that it would most probably be discussed.

ANC, Cosatu to meet

He also said the ANC and Cosatu had agreed on Wednesday that a provincial alliance would debate on the issue on October 21.

Cosatu requested this meeting after the union failed to reach agreement about its position at its provincial congress over the weekend.

Cosatu also indicated its dissatisfaction with the manner in which the process was handled inside the alliance.

Provincial general council meeting

Skwatsha said the ANC wanted to hold a provincial general council meeting on October 14, where representatives of all branches would get the opportunity to share their views on the issue.

“When we later attend the deliberations with Cosatu, we as the ANC would be speaking with one voice about the issue.”

Mike Louw, Cosatu’s provincial organiser, confirmed the meeting had been set and that he was satisfied this was the next step in the consultation process between the union and its alliance partner.

Louw said Cosatu’s provincial executive committee would hold a special meeting on October 16, during which the union would make a decision about its position on the matter.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by hex

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:13:41 -0500

This last Monday, October 2, the Cape Times reported: ‘After an adjourned provincial congress meeting on Saturday that was closed to the media, Cosatu released the following statement: “With the DA as our principal enemy, Cosatu believes that the ANC-led tripartite alliance should embark on a mass-based programme to take back power in the city and thereby ensure an inclusive government in the City of Cape Town’ (...) ‘Ehrenreich could not be reached for comment yesterday about the apparent about-turn by the federation. It was also not clear what the “mass-based programme” by the federation would entail.’

Then, yesterday: ‘Cosatu’s Mike Louw said that the trade union federation had yet to take a position on the proposed change and that the federation’s provincial leadership was due to meet on October 16 to come up with an agreed position on the matter.’

One must also keep in mind that Cosatu was at first against the change in the mayoral system for the sole reason that they hadn’t been consulted on the matter by the ANC. So bad for the ego.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by DA Mal

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 06:56:50 -0500

What, a Labour Party government of Cape Town?... No, nothing so dramatic is likely!

The Western Cape ANC is badly split not to the point of collapse, but rather to the point of ineffectiveness. They have to fight elections harder than any other ANC province. So infighting is relatively costly compared, say, to infighting in the Eastern Cape.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by Farrel

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 04:08:52 -0500

Should COSATU split from the ANC and win control of a municipality (highly unlikely it may be) perhaps they fear the ANC would use the same tactics on them?

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by DA Mal

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 01:26:31 -0500

Sorry, I don’t know about Rasool. hex may well be right about him. But the Western Cape ANC is very polarised about this. WC Cosatu (Tony Ehrenreich) is deeply antagonistic to the take-over proposal.

One sense I get is that the ANC is worried about aggravating internal party tensions in the Western Cape. The facade of ANC unity is crumbling fast; and the ideal of party unity matters much more to the ANC than to most parties.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by hex

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:38:19 -0500

I have heard that Rasool is in favour. Ever the faithful servant of the ANC.

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by Farrel

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:18:35 -0500

It will be interesting to see if the courts feel whether or not Diyanti can use the act at his own disgression or if there has to be an extremely justifiable reason for his decision to reconfigure the council. I think it will answer an important question about the roles of ‘checks and balances’ in government.

Mal: Do you know if Ebrahim Rasool is in favour of Diyanti’s actions?

"ANC Western Cape Council Grab Could Backfire" by DA Mal

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 02:30:52 -0500

The DA is not the enemy of the ANC or Cosatu: they are their own worst enemy sometimes…

Of the various misgivings the ANC is having, probably the most important is their realisation that they are undercutting their own chances of winning future elections. In an obvious way, this is practical and necessary politics. But I also think it’s hugely encouraging to hear that the ANC’s strategic thinking includes dealing with the fact that they will fight elections against opponents that might win, because that speaks volumes about the ANC’s commitment to democracy.

Even so, I hope that this case reaches the courts, for two reasons.

Politically speaking – though I offer apologies for being cynical – it will be very helpful to the DA if “the concept of our constitutional democracy is being perceived to be undermined by this attempt to grasp power in Cape Town” by the ANC.

Far more importantly, it’s constitutionally important to go through a test case on this matter. We need to know whether lies the boundary between the limits of the executive and the limits of democracy.