ANC loses control of Makana municipality in South Africa for the first time — Daily Maverick

In South Africa’s Makana municipality, the African National Congress (ANC) has lost control of the council for the first time in the municipality’s history. In the election, the ANC won 31.27% of the vote and 10 seats, Daily Maverick reports.

Distribution of seats

The Democratic Alliance (DA) came second with 27.24% of the vote and received six seats on the council. The Makana United Civic Movement (MUCM), which participated in the election for the first time, received 19.51% of the vote and won four seats.

The EFF, SACP, PA, Makana Citizens Front and ActionSA each received one seat, accounting for another five seats. After the election, the parties must determine which forces will join together to govern the municipality.

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Coalition talks

MUCM chairperson Andile Peter said that the movement’s leadership had not yet met to discuss possible coalitions. According to him, the organization is ready to negotiate with any party but will not compromise on the principles of financial management, accountability, service delivery and recruiting qualified staff to restore the municipality’s operations.

Mabuti Matyumza, chairperson of the ANC’s regional branch in Sarah Baartman, linked the decline in support for the party to low voter turnout. He also said that the ANC was challenging the allocation of seats: according to him, the party did not receive a single proportional representation seat despite having the highest number of votes.

Problems with municipal services

Makana has long faced problems with basic municipal services: some communities go without water for weeks, while significant volumes of treated water are lost through leaks in the aging network. Local roads are also in poor condition. The MUCM said that problems with service delivery were one of the reasons for the movement’s participation in the election.