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ANC in Gauteng announces defections from opposition parties

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AS ELECTION day draws closer, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Congress of the People (COPE) were at pains on Friday to downplay news that the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng continued to swell its ranks, this time with members of the provincial legislature (MPLs) who once represented the former two parties.

The defections deepen already longstanding challenges for opposition parties vying for control over South Africa’s richest province. Tension in the DA between political leadership and public representatives in the party are prompting councillors to leave the opposition party for the ANC.

The ANC announced that another three opposition party MPLs defected to the governing party. However, COPE and the DA have either not spoken out on the continuing defections or have brushed them aside.

The ANC in Gauteng faces a challenging election battle and tension between the provincial leadership and the party’s national leadership mean that the party’s performance in the province could be used against provincial ANC leaders if results are not favourable.

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COPE had a strong debut at the 2009 elections amassing 1.3-million votes. However, the factional battles that soon followed in the party dented its reputation and the party has lost membership.

DA Gauteng leader John Moodey said Rose Gudhluza’s move to ANC was prompted by her unfavourable chances of re-entering provincial legislature as a DA representative. Mr Moodey said while Leverne Young was a capable councilor for the DA she had battled to deliver on targets set for her in the party’s election campaign. He wished both well.

Ms Gudluza was formerly the DA’s Women’s Network leader while Ms Young was a councillor in Midrand. They both joined the ANC on Thursday. Former COPE MPLs Ndzipho Kalipa and Clara Sodlulashe-Mwenze also left COPE for the ANC.

At a briefing to welcome the former DA and COPE members, Gauteng ANC secretary David Makhura said the defections were evidence the Gauteng DA continued to "bleed" and that COPE was "dead".

"They (new members) will work with us in the campaign. They will hit the ground running. They are not coming only as individuals. They are bringing their constituencies with them. In the remaining period, the ANC in Gauteng will be everywhere. Members of the NEC (national executive committee) are joining us. We are going to hold the biggest rally ever held at the Siyanqoba Rally on 4 May," Mr Makhura said.

Mr Kalipa said: "We left ANC in 2007. I am amongst those who founded COPE. It is now an organisation that has no vision and perishes. I returned to ANC because I have seen that the values that founded it remain intact."

COPE national spokesman Johann Abrie brushed of the defections, saying the former members were bitter at being excluded from COPE’s National Assembly and provincial legislature lists.

"They have to secure income so they knocked on the ANC door and they offered him a reward. We have not lost anything. They can join the ANC and get their tenders and rewards," Mr Abrie said.

Ms Young said she had done a lot of work in her ward but the ANC appreciated her efforts more than her colleagues in the DA did.

Mr Moodey said while Ms Young was a good administrator she battled to perform her duties in the DA's election campaign and could not withstand pressure. He said Ms Gudhluza was unlikely to return to the provincial legislature as a DA representative after the polls and that this could have informed her decision to defect to the ANC. Mr Moodey wished both of them well.