DA statement ahead of Johannesburg Inaugural Council Meeting
22 November 2021
The Johannesburg metro council will meet today to swear in councillors and to elect a Mayor and Speaker. The claim by some that the DA must support a multi-party minority coalition is misguided for the following reasons:
This minority coalition in Johannesburg will not be able to govern without the support of the EFF, that will remain outside the coalition but dictate its actions on the threat of bringing it down. The EFF will thus be able to direct the Mayor's actions on many issues, as the EFF did after 2016 when Herman Mashaba became the "EFF's mayor". We do not intend to repeat that failed mission again.
Even if the DA supported the coalition to form a minority government under Herman Mashaba in Johannesburg, it would still need the ANC or EFF to pass budgets and other critical mandatory council decisions.
Throughout the election campaign, the DA has been steadfast in its position that we would rather be a strong opposition than being part of a shaky coalition that limps from meeting to meeting and depends on the support of the EFF.