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Tension could reach boiling point in Matatiele as the community squabbles over whether to remain in the Eastern Cape or be incorporated back into KwaZulu-Natal.
The ANC subregion and the ANC-led Matatiele Local Municipality are opposed to the deal – which has already been signed by the governing party’s top leadership – because they want to stay in the Eastern Cape. The deal will see the town transferred back to the KwaZulu-Natal administration so the ANC can retain control of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and the Rustenburg Local Municipality.
The African Independent Congress (AIC) is celebrating with the Matatiele Drakensburg Taxi Association, which backed its campaign during the local government elections last year. But the ANC in the Matatiele subregion is peeved by the development.
Thobile Mfene, the chair of the Matatiele ANC subregion, accused ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe of failing to visit party representatives to brief them about the agreement with the AIC.
“They should have asked us what we and our constituency thought of the deal,” Mfene said.
He said a memorandum of understanding reached between the ANC and the AIC after the local government elections last year led to the memorandum of agreement that was signed last week to put Matatiele back into KwaZulu-Natal. However, the subregion did not get a chance to look at the documents.
Mfene said they did their best to neutralise the AIC’s footprint in Matatiele in the local government elections and won an outright majority. Now, he said, they would suffer because of the ANC’s poor performance in Gauteng and other municipalities.
The Matatiele Local Municipality has 38 ANC councillors, five DA councillors, four AIC councillors, three Economic Freedom Fighters councillors and one United Democratic Movement councillor.
Matatiele Local Municipality Mayor Momelezi Mbedla said he feared that the decision would destabilise the municipality. But he has planned a press briefing for tomorrow to communicate the party’s decision to the community, and to allay its fears and misconceptions. However, he warned that the Matatiele arrangement risked giving hope to other areas such as Vuwani in Limpopo, which has been dealing with a similar demarcation issue.
Aubrey Mhlongo, the AIC’s national spokesperson who also leads the negotiations on behalf of his party, confirmed that a memorandum of agreement was signed last week. It set in motion the process to transfer Matatiele to the KwaZulu-Natal administration.
“The minister in the presidency has already introduced the plan to the Cabinet committee that looks into demarcation. The process will wrap up at the end of November, when it is completed and voted for at the national assembly,” Mhlongo said.
The AIC helped build coalition governments in Ekurhuleni and Rustenburg.
“Because we gave them what they wanted, they came on board to transfer Matatiele back to KwaZulu-Natal,” Mhlongo said.
Neko Moshoeshoe, the chair of the Matatiele Drakensburg Taxi Association, said the deal would work for the industry as scores of customers from Matatiele travelled to KwaZulu-Natal every day.
“That means people in Matatiele can go to Pietermaritzburg, do their business and come back on the same day,” he said.
Moshoeshoe said the industry supported the AIC’s campaign with R500 000 to ensure that Matatiele was reincorporated into KwaZulu-Natal.
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