Ousted City of Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink has warned Tshwane residents to “beware the doomsday pact that has now taken over as the government of Tshwane.”
His remarks come after he was beaten to the mayoral position by 122 to 86 votes by his former deputy and now challenger Dr Hazel Nasiphi Moya.
ActionSA Councillor Dr Nasiphi Moya has been elected as the new Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane.
Moya won the election with an overwhelming majority, clinching 122 votes.
Former Mayor Cilliers Brink, who was removed in a motion of no confidence two weeks ago, obtained 86 votes.
Dr Moya becomes the sixth mayor in eight years since the 2016 local government elections. She is the second woman to wear the mayoral chain after Dr Gwen Ramokgopa.
In Moya’s acceptance speech she said, “To the residents of Tshwane, hear me clearly. It is not lost on me, the anxiety and the political instability that has plagued this city.”
“My vow is to end that cycle of uncertainty and bring stability to the city we all call home.”
“To the residents of Soshonguve, Hammanskraal, Mamelodi, Centurion, Bronkhorstspruit, Ga-Rankuwa, Lynnwood, Kameeldrift, Waterkloof, Irene, Sokhulumi, and everyone residing in between, I’m here to tell you that I am not an ActionSA mayor or a mayor from any other party for that matter.”
“I will be the mayor for the residents of Tshwane.”
“No more politics, it’s all about better service delivery now,” said Dr Moya in her acceptance speech.
“The last couple of days have been difficult for the people of Tshwane as they faced uncertain over the leadership of the city,” she said.
“Hear me clearly, I am not an ActionSA mayor, I am a mayor for all 4 million residents of Tshwane,” said Moya confidently.
She indicated that there is a troubling reality of the growing divide between the affluent and the disadvantaged, which has become a defining characteristic of the City of Tshwane.
She revealed that she has had several engagements with the residents of Tshwane in all its seven regions and that the common cry is for her to fix the roads, collect refuse, keep the lights on and provide clean water.
“I am here to work, now work with me,” said Moya.
SANCO Tshwane Regional Chairperson Velaphi Khoza said under Brink there was maladministration of funds and corruption, including poor service delivery and that SANCO hopes for the best from new mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya.
ANC Tshwane Regional leader Eugene Bones Modise expressed happiness that the City of Tshwane was now under what he called “a mayor who is reasonable, qualified and likes working.”
He revealed that the ANC has mapped out a “rescue-and- recovery plan” for the City of Tshwane and that the plan resonates with that of ActionSA.
“It is unfortunate that the coalition government under Brink has been removed from power, but in only 18 months Brink had already started turning around the finances of the city for the better,” said a disappointed DA Tshwane Caucus spokesperson Kwena Moloto.
Moloto said the DA will be an effective opposition and ensure that key service delivery projects which were initiated by the DA do not get derailed by the incoming ANC/ EFF/ ActionSA alliance.
“To cover what is essentially a Doomsday Pact, the ANC and their chaotic Gauteng factions have installed a proxy mayor from a small party and this proxy mayor model allows the ANC and the EFF to battle for resources while blaming their poor performance on a hapless third party,” said ousted mayor Cilliers Brink.
“ActionSA mayor Nasiphi Moya will be in the office, but she will not be in power, her strings will be pulled by the ANC’s Gauteng factions and the EFF,” he said.
Brink pointed out that according to Social Research Foundation polls, ActionSA stands at a paltry 0,5 in terms of support nationwide, and that in the City of Tshwane it will only play the role of a junior partner in what is essentially an EFF/ANC partnership.
To show the precarious situation that Tshwane residents may find themselves in, Brink referred back to the culture of disrupting meetings that is inherent in the ANC since losing power in Tshwane in 2016, the ANC and EFF’s involvement in the Glad Afrika scandal, and also the now aborted PEU smart meter tender for which the City of Tshwane had to cough out R4,5 billion in VAT, penalties and interests.
City of Tshwane mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya speech: