Johannesburg – They were unceremoniously kicked out of the ANC.
However, in a move that will haunt their tormentors in the governing party, MAP 16 has spectacularly wrestled power in the ANC stronghold of Maluti-A-Phofung municipality in the Free State.
The name MAP 16 is derived from the municipality’s name of Maluti-A-Phofung (MAP) and 16 represents their total number when they were expelled from the ANC in 2019.
Their expulsion was triggered after they voted with the opposition in a motion of no-confidence against former mayor Vusi Tshabalala.
It is believed to have been engineered by suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, who is known to be a close ally of Tshabalala.
Party president Cyril Ramaphosa promised they would be reinstated, but this did not happen and they decided to contest the local government elections as independents.
MAP 16 leader Paratlane Motloung still feels a sense of “betrayal” though they have ensured that the ANC dominance in the municipality is slashed from 47 to 28 seats in the local polls, with a MAP16-led coalition taking over the running of the embattled municipality.
The municipality encompasses QwaQwa, Kestell, and Harrismith. It was placed under administration in 2018. Motloung, who has been tipped to become the municipality’s next speaker, said they were expelled from the ANC for standing up against Tshabala la’s mismanagement of the municipality.
But Magashule later promoted him to chief whip of the provincial legislature following the 2019 general elections.
“You must note that these councillors who were expelled were part of CR17 camp, while those who were supporting Tshabalala were councillors siding with the NDZ [Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma] faction. Ramaphosa folded his arms as we were chucked out of the council and the party,” Motloung said.
“The NDZ faction started targeting the councillors who were challenging Tshabalala on corruption issues and that is when there was a shutdown in Qwaqwa. Due to Tshabalala’s relationship with Ace Magashule, who was holding a powerful position in the ANC as the secretary-general, a decision was made that these councillors should be charged for defiance.
“After Tshabalala was forced to resign, the ANC had wanted to appoint another person who was his proxy, and we worked with the opposition, particularly the EFF, to vote for the election of the new mayor and the speaker,” said Motloung.
Tshabalala was recently suspended as the chief whip by the ANC’s interim provincial committee in the Free State for allegedly campaigning for independent candidates, an allegation he has denied.
Motloung recalled how Ramaphosa while campaigning in QwaQwa before the 2019 national elections, promised to bring back his foot soldiers to the ANC fold, a promise he did not keep.
“He asked us to work hard for the ANC to win elections, but Ramaphosa never got back to us and that was an act of betrayal on his part,” he said.
The group, which secured 20 seats, has formed a coalition with several smaller parties, including the EFF. MAP 16’s Gilbert Mokotso has been put forward for mayor. Motloung said that the intention is to lead Maluti-a-Phofung to greatness.
“We are going to deal with corruption … and use all our means to hold those involved to be accountable.”
However, the province’s MEC of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Mxolisi Dukwana, has put a spanner in the works after writing a letter to the municipality on Wednesday informing it of his intention to change the council’s system from the current mayoral executive system to collective executive system.
The collective executive system provides for parties and interests represented in the council to have representation in the executive that is proportionate to its representation in the council, and in which the powers of the mayor are essentially ceremonial.
The move by Dukwana has been seen as an attempt by the ANC to run the municipality via the “backdoor”.
Dukwana is also the ANC’s coordinator in the province following the disbandment of the provincial structure earlier in the year.
ANC head of presidency Sibongile Besani said: “People who formed MAP 16 were expelled from the ANC and they appealed their expulsion and procedurally the appeal was handled by the NEC … but the NEC, unfortunately, endorsed the expulsion. It was not an individual matter as the president cannot change the decision of the appeals committee.”
To read more political news and views from this week’s paper, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
