It appears that the political breeze in Joburg is about to change and that Al Jama-ah's mayor there, Kabelo Gwamanda, is about to lose office. But the wind may change in an even more fundamental way, with ActionSA working with the ANC.
On Sunday came the first of several reports that the ANC was negotiating with ActionSA about working together in Joburg. It appears the two agreed that they could work together and should remove Kabelo Gwamanda as mayor.
This would result in the ANC's Dada Morero being elected as mayor.
ActionSA seems confident this will lead to its members getting powerful positions in Gauteng councils.
The ANC would be the net gainer from this. Currently, it is in an "informal working arrangement" with the EFF, in terms of which no one from the ANC or the EFF can be nominated as mayor of Joburg.
With the support of ActionSA, the ANC would once again own the mayoral chain.
This directly contradicts the promise, made repeatedly by ActionSA, that it would never work with the ANC. Its leader, Herman Mashaba, has time and again said he only entered politics to remove the ANC from power.
And yet, less than two months after the elections, ActionSA appears prepared to backtrack completely.
This may well be the strongest indication yet of the power of the coalition in the national government.
An irresistible force
As our politics has almost completely realigned since the...
