Rustenburg – The ANC must garner enough votes to take full control of the Rustenburg local municipality in North West.
"We are hanging by a thread in Rustenburg (municipality), we are in coalition. The ANC must win with a majority to take control of the municipality," ANC's interim provincial committee (IPC) convener Susanna Dantjie said.
She said a coalition government was a problem as it needed constant maintenance.
She was speaking in Lethabong, about 45km north-east of Rustenburg, during the ANC local government election manifesto launch for the Rustenburg sub-region.
Rustenburg is one of the hung municipalities where the ANC did not score an outright majority to take control of the municipality in the 2016 municipal election.
The ANC won 43 seats out of 89-seat council, and went into coalition with the Botho Community Movement, a community-based organisation in Boitekong which won one seat and the African Independent Congress (AIC).
Dantjie told the rally that the ANC has changed the manner in which the mayor, speaker and chief whip were elected, explaining that candidates for the seats would have to go through an interview conducted at the party's head office at Luthuli House.
"The ANC will announce its mayors after November 4," she said.
According to the ANC candidate list released by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC), former North West transport MEC Frans Vilakazi is contesting for a seat in ward 17, former North West finance MEC Louisa Mabe is on the PR (propositional representative) list as is ANC chief whip in the North West legislature, Paul Sebegoe, and former chairperson of Cosatu in Rustenburg, Maleho Gaonakala.
A number of parties would contest for seats in Rustenburg for the first time; one of the rookies is the African Economic Transformers led by Pogiso Bothomane, who was previously with the Forum 4 Service Delivery.
There are also the Abantu Batho Congress, African Restoration Alliance, African Transformation Movement, Arona, Azanian Independent Community Movement and the Forum For Democrats.
Our City Matters, led by Frans Rootman, and Tsogang Civic Movement as well as 25 independent candidates are also contesting for a seat in Rustenburg.
IOL