Could the resignation of councillor Mkhuseli “Khusta” Jack as a mayoral committee member signal the beginning of the collapse of the governing coalition with parties repositioning themselves ahead of the November 4 local government elections?
The liberation struggle veteran who now heads the Abantu Integrity Movement quit mayor Babalwa Lobishe’s coalition last week claiming he had been disillusioned “with the manner in which governance in this administration had deteriorated” under the mayor.
Lobishe, however, says she was about to fire Jack as she was not satisfied with his performance as the political head for the human resources and corporate services departments.
Whatever the main reason might be, what is clear is that, with the next elections on the horizon, different political parties making up the ANC-led coalition are beginning to look critically at whether their continued association with the city government is enhancing or hurting their standing in the eyes of the electorate.
Though Jack’s departure doesn’t disrupt the coalition, as the remaining parties still have enough seats to run council, it does remind us of the fragility of the current arrangement and how it may be strained further as election day approaches with each party trying to distance themselves from any failures associated with the administration.
With only a few months remaining before the next election, it is in the city’s interest for the parties to maintain relative stability while hoping that the outcomes of November 4 would result in a more solid coalition.
But that stability should not mean that the council should not be held accountable for all that is broken with the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
Much of the issues Jack raises in his resignation letter speak to what most residents are concerned about.
The mayor may be right in saying Jack did not achieve much in his portfolio but Jack is also telling the truth when he says there is a “daily upswelling of anger among various stakeholder formations” over the metro’s failings.
The remaining members of the coalition do need to pull up their socks.
