Note to Editors: Click here for soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Joe McGluwa MP, DA North West Provincial Leader
The ANC North West Interim Provincial Committee’s (IPC) attempt to have the IEC declare vacancies to get rid of its own Mayors, Speakers and Chief Whips (Troikas) of municipalities, is not only unconstitutional but also indicative of the ANC’s desperation as factional battles for access to resources escalate in the province.
Political parties may recall any of its public representatives through the appropriate process. Letters have to be submitted to the Speakers and Municipal Managers of municipalities. It is only through the Municipal Manager’s notification of a vacancy, that the IEC may declare a vacancy.
The ANC IPC’s lament that Municipal Managers are not processing these vacancies is perhaps the perfect example of how the ANC’s cadre deployment policy hampers not only service delivery, but also subvert good governance.
The politicisation of the civil service, a policy of the ANC, has now come to bite it where it hurts.
The ANC in the North West stands divided. Factions continue to vie for power and while these battles in municipalities continue without any hope of finalisation, it is the people of North West who suffer the brunt of the complete collapse in governance and service delivery of which the ANC is the cause.
Several by-elections are taking place across North West this week. In Ward 5 JB Marks Local Municipality, residents have the power to strengthen the DA’s representation in the local Council. JB Marks has been crippled by the corrupt governance of the ANC, resulting in the arrests of Mayor Khumalo and municipal officials by the Hawks two weeks ago. The ANC’s IPC has not acted against these cadres.
In Madibeng Ward 29, another municipality destroyed by the ANC’s incompetence, voters can return the DA to Council to continue the fight for accountable and responsive governance.
The ANC’s IPC previously requested its Troikas to resign, this was met with contempt. It now seeks to have its cadres removed through the back door, which has also failed. Even motions of no confidence tabled by the ANC itself will fail.
The only way to restore good governance in North West is for the people of the province to reject the ANC wholeheartedly and elect the DA to government.
The DA’s track record in municipalities across South Africa shows that we rebuild what the ANC has destroyed, that we deliver services to all the people, and through our efforts, improve the material and economic circumstances of all who live in DA governed areas. The DA is ready to bring this good governance to North West.