The upcoming local government elections may be a game changer for the ANC, as it opens up its candidate selection process to nonmembers. The DA has long done the same, urging popular members of the community to apply to become councillors and undergo its interview process to be included on its lists.
The move by the ANC comes in what is possibly a bid to neutralise the eroding effect of independent candidates on its electoral support. The ANC is weakest at local level and the polls, while they have been postponed, will still come on the back of rising unemployment, continued reports of corruption — and unrest resulting in over 350 deaths and billions in damage to property, due to ANC factional battles.
Audit outcomes at local level show eye-watering mismanagement. Last month, the AG released audit outcomes which showed that most municipalities faced financial ruin. The outcomes showed that municipalities amassed R26bn in irregular spending.
Of SA’s 257 municipalities, 27 received clean audits. Services in many small towns are nonexistent and infrastructure is falling apart. The impact of Covid has also been harrowing. For example. Joburg mayor Geoff Makhubo died last month (he was replaced this week). Leadership of the largest-budget metro has been unstable since 2016 and the crisis simply deepened after Makhubo’s death.
While the ANC obtained a convincing majority in the 2019 national election, its performance at local level generally trails by a few percentage points. In the 2016 local election, the ANC obtained a dismal 54% majority countrywide.
But its support in recent by-elections indicated a slight improvement. In the two "super by-elections" held to fill vacant councillor posts, the largest competition the ANC faced was from independent candidates. Analysis by nonprofit election organisation The Third Republic shows that while the ANC won back 37 seats from opposition parties including the DA, the IFP and the Better Residents Association, 15 of the 36 seats it shed were lost to independents.
ANC head of elections Kgalema Motlanthe last week announced that the community had the final say in the selection of councillor candidates.
The move could lead to professional, experienced community activists taking up councillor posts
ANC branches will select four candidates, who are put forward for the community to scrutinise. The community will then select the best candidate for the post. Should none of the candidates impress the community, it is able to propose an "outsider" of its own choosing for the post.
"The community nomination is where the nomination process is finalised," Motlanthe said. "If, as I said, the community feels the four that come from the branch are not equal to the task and do not enjoy the confidence of the community, the community is free to nominate whomever. If that person who commands respect and confidence of the community happens not to be a member of the ANC, they are then given the latitude to join and take up membership of the ANC."
What could go wrong? A lot. The last time the ANC shook up its selection process, ahead of the 2011 local election, it faced a revolt from its structures, culminating in protests by disgruntled members across SA.
The process this time around could be undermined by internal ANC politics, with communities enlisted to fight factional battles or even being manipulated by opposition parties. However, outside nominees who are brought in by the community will face rigorous vetting, led by Motlanthe’s selection committee.
The move could lead to more professional or experienced community activists taking up councillor posts, but it will require active and widespread participation by citizens. The move could finally address the rot which has come to characterise the ANC.
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