Helen Zille has been the poison in coalitions
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said that Helen Zille has been the poison in coalitions, and she has even kept her own party out of power.
Beaumont shared his views about South Africa’s political landscape and coalitions during a Newsday interview.
During the discussion, he shared information about the collapse of the Democratic Alliance (DA)-led multi-party coalition in the City of Johannesburg.
Following the November 2021 municipal elections, Mpho Phalatse was elected executive mayor heading a multi-party arrangement.
The core coalition included the DA, ActionSA, IFP, VF Plus, ACDP, and COPE, which later brought into a working alignment with Gayton McKenzie’s PA.
In 2022 and 2023, the coalition became unstable, which culminated in a successful motion of no confidence ending Phalatse’s tenure as mayor.
However, there was an opportunity to reclaim the city from the ANC and EFF coalition. However, according to Beaumont, Zille stopped this from happening.
“Zille has repeatedly acted as a disruptive force in Gauteng coalition negotiations. On multiple occasions, viable agreements were on the table, which she broke,” he said.
He cited the negotiations in the Johannesburg Metro following Phalatse’s removal as executive mayor.
“ActionSA, the DA, the Patriotic Alliance, and other former partners reached a consensus to restore the coalition,” he said.
“To make this work, ActionSA surrendered two of its three Mayoral Committee seats to the Patriotic Alliance, securing the majority to reinstate Mpho Phalatse as mayor.”
“Hands were shaken, and PA leader Gayton McKenzie publicly announced the deal. Yet, Helen Zille single-handedly vetoed the agreement.”
He said that, in an era of coalitions which run local governments, figures like Helen Zille and Cilliers Brink represent an obstacle to effective governance.
He added that it is rich for Zille to claim that she and the DA want to rescue Johannesburg from the ANC when they effectively handed power to the ANC.
“Constructive members exist within the DA, but the party frequently puts forward leaders who lack the temperament to manage multi-party environments,” he said.
Beaumont said that coalitions only succeed when guided by the right leadership, like Nasiphi Moya, ActionSA’s City of Tshwane mayor.
Loading ...
If I vote for a party I don’t want a coalition diluting the promise of the party I have voted for.
I think Zille is of the same mind, thus breaking coalitions – we don’t know what was tabled to “Take Joburg back” by the coalition, maybe the terms were not acceptable.
Phalatse was incredible as mayor – it seems every time someone gets it right, Mashaba too, another party will step in and have them removed and take credit for their hard work.
And then we end up with a Morero…
The coalition swung and they ganged up against good governance with their own agenda – How is it that we, as civil society, who these Civil Servants work for, have no say in their removal – We should have had a By-election, but the decision was made in chambers where we have our power taken away from us by unscrupulous individuals who hold sway with tenders, buildings rented etc. leading to the cespit that we call Johannesburg: Broke, Broken and Bereft.