Gauteng - Gauteng’s first coalition after Monday’s local government elections could be sealed before the end of the week after the ANC won only half of the 26 seats in the Lesedi Local Municipality in Heidelberg.
The Socialist Economic Freedom Movement (SEFM) has emerged as a kingmaker after it won a proportional representation seat in the municipality.
SEFM leaders Teboho Hlanguza, Bayanda Radebe and Thulani Mashinini are in talks as to who will occupy the seat.
Party spokesperson Radebe told Independent Media on Tuesday that they were still deciding who to send to the council.
According to Radebe, the SEFM would ensure that it derived value from the coalition and that they were still in talks with the ANC.
As thing stood on Tuesday afternoon, Radebe added, the SEFM would decide whether the ANC’s proposal for a coalition made sense.
He ruled out working with the other parties who had won seats in the municipality, including the DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF+), which will have five and three councillors, respectively.
The EFF won four seats.
Radebe said they would not work with the DA and FF+ due to the SEFM’s position on land and systematic racism.
He assured residents of the municipality that by Wednesday general consensus would be reached.
ANC Sedibeng regional co-ordinator Mafika Siphiwe Mgcina said the party would make a decision on entering coalitions in Gauteng after its provincial executive committee meeting currently under way.
The ANC won 19 of the 26 seats in the 2016 municipal polls in the Lesedi Local Municipality.
In March this year, Mluleki Nkosi was elected speaker after Lerato Maloka was redeployed to the Sedibeng District Municipality as mayor, replacing Busisiwe Modisakeng, who died of Covid-10-related complications.
Political Bureau