Infighting plagues S Africa opposition ahead of vote

Bloomberg

South Africa’s main opposition party is proving to be its own worst enemy as it bids to topple the ruling African National Congress from power in next year’s elections. Instead of capitalising on voter antagonism towards the ANC and President Jacob Zuma over a succession of scandals, the Democratic Alliance has stumbled, with its mayors’ performance drawing criticism in several of the biggest cities it runs, including Cape Town and Johannesburg. The party is also struggling to deal with a severe water crisis in Cape Town and improve services in municipalities where it wrested control from the ANC in 2016.
“The DA has been shooting itself in the foot,” said Xolani Dube, a political analyst at the Xubera Institute for Research and Development in the port city of Durban. “Its internal problems are doing serious damage to its image and will undermine its attempts to portray itself as a viable alternative to the ANC.”
Personality clashes and disagreements over policy have already cost the DA control of one major town, Mogale City, northwest of Johannesburg, and its mayor in Cape Town risks being ousted by her own party in the coming weeks.
The timing for the DA’s woes is awful. While it capitalised on anger over Zuma to win 27 percent of the vote in the 2016 municipal elections, up from 22 percent in a national ballot two years earlier, it’s now up against a ruling party that’s been revitalized under new leadership.
The election of Cyril Ramaphosa to replace Zuma as its leader in December will probably reduce the odds of the ANC’s support dropping below the 50 percent mark in 2019. The party has won every vote outright since apartheid ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela led it to power.

CAPE TOWN CRISIS
In Cape Town, which the DA has controlled since 2006, Mayor Patricia de Lille faces an official probe after being accused by her fellow party members of poor administration and a high-handed management style — allegations she denies. The standoff comes as the city battles to address chronic water shortages due to the worst drought on record, with taps set to run dry in April unless consumption is curbed or there is unseasonal heavy rain.
“The DA has been hit by a perfect storm of party infighting in Cape Town and a natural disaster,” said Daniel Silke, the director of Political Futures Consultancy and a former DA counselor in the city. “While the majority of residents don’t care about political ideology, they do care about water very much. If the DA do not get a grip on this crisis, they could face a ratepayers’ revolt.”
In Johannesburg, the economic hub, Mayor Herman Mashaba has alienated many of his fellow DA officials and party supporters with his hard-line approach toward dealing with illegal immigrants and a perceived autocratic governing style.