South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks with Chief of the South African National Defence General Rudzani Maphwanya as he tours the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2024 Trade and Exhibition at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria on Sept. 18.PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP/Getty Images
After 100 days in power, South Africa’s coalition government has boosted the national economy and won support from foreign investors, but it now faces a growing threat from internal revolts and political chaos in its major cities.
The new cabinet, sworn into office on July 3 after a power-sharing deal, marked its first 100 days in office on Friday with a surge of optimism about its early reforms and successes, including a stronger national currency and a steady electricity supply for the first time in years.
At the local level, however, the coalition has fallen into disarray, triggering upheaval in city governments that are increasingly struggling with water shortages and deteriorating infrastructure.
Johannesburg’s main water supplier, Rand Water, warned on the weekend that its system could be approaching “total collapse” if municipal officials don’t take urgent steps to tackle the crisis. City governments, including Johannesburg, have been hobbled by political infighting that the national coalition has been unable to fix.
The coalition is dominated by two main parties: the long-ruling African National Congress, which suffered a sharp decline in its vote in May’s national election, and the biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA). Together they have reassured investors and strengthened the national currency, the rand, which in turn has led to lower inflation, interest rate cuts, and predictions of faster economic growth.
Skeptics had been doubtful that the left-wing ANC could find consensus with the liberal pro-market DA, but they have reached agreement on issues such as work visas, allowing more skilled workers into the country. A newly released opinion poll found that both parties have seen their popularity rise since the coalition was formed.
Nearly 60 per cent of South Africans say the coalition is working well, compared with just 21 per cent who feel it is performing badly, according to the survey of 1,204 people by the Social Research Foundation last month. Support for the ANC has climbed to 45 per cent, four months after it received just 40 per cent of votes in the election.
But while the coalition is backed by the ANC’s moderate wing, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, it faces dissent from an internal faction of populists and economic nationalists who dislike the partnership with the DA, traditionally seen as a party of the white minority. They prefer to deal with more radical parties such as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the fourth-biggest party in parliament, which is pushing for nationalization of mines and industries.
A key ally of this faction is Panyaza Lesufi, an influential ANC official and Premier of Gauteng province, the country’s economic heartland and most populous region. In both Johannesburg and Tshwane, the metropolitan municipality where Pretoria is located, Mr. Lesufi has brokered deals to elect new mayors and bring the EFF into government, while excluding the DA.
This has sparked outrage from DA and ANC leaders who accuse Mr. Lesufi of violating the coalition agreement.
Helen Zille, the DA’s federal council chair, said the Tshwane election was a “seismic event” that exposed the ANC’s responsibility for “chronic instability” in the cities. She announced that the DA was withdrawing from negotiations to stabilize several other city governments where the ANC depends on the DA’s support.
The ANC’s political deals with the EFF have prolonged the political turmoil that has badly damaged several cities in recent years as basic services deteriorate. Johannesburg has had a revolving door of nine mayors in the past five years, while Tshwane has had six mayors since 2017. Over the same time, the water crisis has grown worse, with frequent shutdowns in many neighbourhoods and massive leaks from broken pipes.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, an ally of Mr. Ramaphosa, tried to persuade the party to reprimand Mr. Lesufi for breaching the coalition agreement, but the party’s executive decided to drop the matter.
The dispute could be a foreshadowing of conflicts that could jeopardize the coalition at the national level. Tensions have already flared over ANC policies that the DA opposes. On Friday, DA leader John Steenhuisen released a list of potential deal-breakers for his party, including the ANC’s plans to eliminate the autonomy of individual schools to choose their teaching languages – which the DA perceives as a threat to the language rights of the Afrikaner minority.
The government had earlier agreed to a three-month delay in these clauses in a new education law, but a political collision seems to be looming.
Mr. Ramaphosa, however, insists that the coalition is durable. “Anything else is just too ghastly to contemplate,” he said last month.