Johannesburg - The president of the African People’s Convection (APC), Themba Godi, said the ANC-led coalition in the City of Johannesburg should be protected at all costs.
The Government of Local Unity in the City of Johannesburg has experienced turmoil over the last few weeks with the Patriotic Alliance (PA) calling for the mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Thapelo Amad, to step down or face a motion of no confidence. This comes after a number of embarrassing public interviews that have left question marks on Amad’s competence as the number one resident of the City of Johannesburg.
The turmoil surrounding the mayor had also become a sore point among the minority parties. There have been a number of engagements among them concerning the turmoil in the coalition, but the APC has called for cool heads and a protection of the coalition.
“Our strategic ruling position is that the current ruling coalition must be sustained. The situation we find ourselves in is unfortunate, but we are aware that it is being managed in the best interest of stability and a sustained focus on serving the needs of the people,” Godi said.
“The Star” understands that some members of the minority front in the City of Johannesburg were in favour of the mayor’s resignation to save the coalition from disintegrating.
The current leadership problems in the City of Johannesburg also saw the State of the City Address being moved to May. Action SA, which had brought a motion of no confidence against the mayor, had threatened to take some councillors to court for boycotting a programming meeting that would slot in the motion of no confidence against the mayor.
“The role the APC has played in all of this is to call for calm and rational engagements to ensure that the coalition is sustained. Coalitions are all about compromise, so compromises are at the core of coalitions. We believe this impasse is manageable and can be managed in the interest of saving the coalition,” Godi said.
Godi denied that the minority parties were fractured over the current formation of the coalition.
“All partners are interested in preserving the coalition in its current form. What they are discussing is finding each other on how we move forward,” he said.
Godi said keeping the DA out of power in the City of Johannesburg was important for all members of the current coalition in Joburg. He said the DA had left the municipality in a financial mess.
“We need to gain the confidence of residents, and if this coalition collapses, it will not be in the best interests of residents,” he said.
Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg was keeping the mayor from all media interviews as coalition partners tried to find each other on how to save the ailing partnership.
The Star