The African National Congress’s (ANC) Gauteng Provincial Task Team (PTT) convened in Fourways on Monday for a high-stakes two-day lekgotla, with discussions expected to center on coalition governance, the party’s declining electoral fortunes, and the urgent service delivery crises plaguing the province’s metros.
The meeting comes on the heels of a tumultuous week in which several municipalities, particularly in Johannesburg, experienced widespread water outages affecting residents, schools, and businesses. The severity of the situation prompted the national government to intervene, with Deputy President Paul Mashatile convening an urgent meeting with the ministers of Water and Sanitation and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) on Friday.
Following those talks, Minister of CoGTA Velenkosini Hlabisa provided a commitment that water supplies to affected communities in Johannesburg and Tshwane are expected to be fully restored by Tuesday.
The lekgotla’s agenda is also heavily shaped by the fractious nature of coalition politics in the province. The discussions come just two weeks after Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema announced the suspension of all working arrangements with the ANC in key minority-led metros, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane. Malema accused the ANC of treating the EFF as “backbenchers” and placed blame on Ekurhuleni Mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana, alleging an unwillingness to collaborate effectively with coalition partners.
Furthermore, the PTT is under pressure to address the party’s internal organizational mandates. The meeting coincides with the deadline set by the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) during its January lekgotla for all provincial and regional structures to establish “ANC war rooms.” These war rooms are designed as service delivery monitoring hubs, aimed at addressing community grievances swiftly as part of a broader strategy to rebuild the party’s image ahead of future elections.
The urgency of this strategy is underscored by the party’s electoral decline in the region. In the 2021 Local Government Elections, the ANC’s support in Gauteng dropped to 45.6%, a significant decrease from the 53.9% it secured in 2016, resulting in the loss of several key metropolitan councils to opposition coalitions.
The provincial task team is expected to deliberate on how to reverse these fortunes and stabilize governance in hung municipalities.