Lobby group AfriForum has launched a virtual petition mobilising the public to stand against a possible formation of a new coalition government in the City of Tshwane with the ANC and EFF as part of it.
This comes as ActionSA’s national leadership recently said the party was in a process of reviewing its status within the multiparty coalition led by the DA in Tshwane.
This was despite the ActionSA caucus in Tshwane council’s announcing last week that it was “ending” its relationship with the multiparty coalition.
The party has expressed its intention to support the ANC to remove incumbent mayor Cilliers Brink and his members of the mayoral committee.
Reacting to the recent developments, which have brought about political instability in the metro, AfriForum has started “a comprehensive campaign” in an effort to keep Tshwane out of the hands of an EFF-ANC coalition.
AfriForum head of public relations, Ernst van Zyl, said the campaign followed ActionSA’s announcement that it’s seriously considering siding with the ANC and the EFF to get rid of Brink.
He said the public can stop the ANC-EFF coalition by visiting the website www.redpretoria.co.za and signing AfriForum’s petition.
“By signing the petition, an automatic letter will be sent to the leaders of ActionSA, DA, IFP, ACDP and FF+ to settle the disputes in the coalition as soon as possible,” he said.
The ANC had planned to remove the mayor through a motion of no confidence during a council meeting last week but it was withdrawn following a court bid by the DA and Brink to declare the move to oust him unconstitutional and unlawful.
Van Zyl said legal action caused the ANC to withdraw its motion, but with the promise to table a new one in council in 14 days. He said urgent action is needed before the current coalition’s fate is decided, to avoid the municipality falling into disarray.
“The metro’s current coalition has already made progress, particularly in Pretoria, to give communities more control to improve and safeguard their neighbourhoods. However, this is now in jeopardy. Should there be political instability again it will undoubtedly contribute to the poor performance of the municipality,” said Van Zyl.
In March this year, the City signed an agreement with AfriForum as part of a Community Upliftment Precinct initiative, encouraging residents and businesses to take part in providing maintenance services such as cutting grass in public places and repairing potholes.
Both the EFF and ANC slammed Brink for his choice of AfriForum as a partner in social projects.
At the time, the ANC lashed out at the DA-led coalition for failing to “comprehend the meaning of social compact” and having “opted for a racially segregated approach that will see one stakeholder, AfriForum engaged in a social capital programme and partnership”.
Van Zyl said: “It’s also outrageous that a party like the EFF, which undermines the rule of law, sows discord and even said during a recent council meeting that they want to ‘m**r a Boer’, can now possibly form part of a new municipal government.”
He was referring to recent utterances by regional EFF leader Obakeng Ramabodu, who threatened to draw “Afrikaner blood” during a council sitting.
Ramabodu said: “I will be happy to moer a Boer. That will be nice; an Afrikaner blood. I want the blood of an Afrikaner.”
He subsequently apologised, but FF+ lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission to probe Ramabodu for making hate speech on a public platform against the Afrikaans-speaking people and violation of their human rights.
Van Zyl said: “It’s time for the residents of the Tshwane metro to make their voices heard by making it loud and clear that they will do everything in their power to prevent an EFF-ANC coalition from gaining power over the metro”.
Pretoria News