Newly elected Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya has vowed to fight corruption, deliver services to all communities and provide work opportunities for the residents of SA’s administrative capital.
Moya was elected as the metro’s first citizen after garnering 122 votes at a city council meeting on Wednesday, beating former mayor Cilliers Brink, who received 86 votes. A total of 208 votes were cast with no spoilt ballots.
Moya had served as Brink’s deputy in the DA-led municipal administration before Brink was ousted in a no-confidence vote on September 26.
Her election was a foregone conclusion as the ANC, EFF and ActionSA — which collectively hold more than 110 seats in the 214 seat council — voted for her to take over the mayoral chain.
It also highlights the political instability that has seen a revolving door of mayors in Gauteng’s three metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane after the 2021 local government elections failed to produce clear winners.
In her acceptance speech, Moya acknowledged that the journey ahead was a “daunting one” but was optimistic it would lead to an era of prosperity and “universal quality service delivery for our great capital city”.
The past couple of months had been difficult for the residents of Tshwane, as they faced uncertainty over the leadership of the city, she said.
“The anxiety and political instability that has plagued this city is not lost on me. But my vow today is to put the politics of the past behind us and bring stability to the city we call home.”
Moya said she appreciated the troubling reality of the “growing divide between the affluent and the disadvantaged, which has become a defining characteristic of our city”.
One of the reasons ActionSA voted with the ANC and EFF to remove Brink was that there were allegations the city prioritised affluent areas for service delivery, to the detriment of township areas. The DA has denied the claims.
Tshwane has the second-highest number of embassies in the world after Washington DC.
“Many residents are facing significant challenges in accessing basic services and opportunities. My vow is to work tirelessly to bridge this gap and ensure that we create a more just and inclusive city where all residents, regardless of their economic status or geographic location, have access to quality services,” Moya said.
“Throughout my engagements with residents in all communities, their pleas have been the same: fix our roads, collect our refuse, keep the lights on and provide us with clean water.” Service delivery to all residents was not a matter of politics “but a matter of principle. As a government, we owe this basic dignity to everyone we serve”.
Moya vowed to make the metro safer, provide work opportunities through the Extended Public Works Programme, invest in public infrastructure, answer residents’ energy and electricity needs, and provide space for young people to pursue sports and recreation. She would also focus on fighting crime “without fear or favour”.
Brink, who is the DA’s caucus leader in council, said Moya would be in office “but she will not be in power. Her strings will be pulled by the ANC’s Gauteng factions and the EFF. This is not a commentary on her skills or qualifications. She was a capable deputy mayor in the Tshwane multiparty coalition, which her party brought to a fall”, he said.
“Having delivered Tshwane to the ANC and the EFF, ActionSA will become insignificant in the battle for resources that has also taken place in other cities where the parties govern together.” The DA would hold Moya’s administration accountable and stop “disastrous decisions” from being implemented.
The former mayor said Tshwane’s financial rescue efforts were in a “fragile position” and any unwise decision would put the city in a cash-flow crisis and wipe out gains.
In the 2021/22 financial year, the metro received an adverse audit opinion. In 2022/23 it registered irregular expenditure of R10bn, though its audit opinion improved to a qualified one.
Precious Theledi, regional secretary of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), the country’s largest union in the local government sector, said Moya’s election heralded the long overdue transformation the metro’s workers and residents had been yearning for.
“For far too long under the now ousted DA-led coalition our city has been shackled by policies that perpetuated inequality and division. The workers and residents of Tshwane have borne the brunt of these inhumane conditions,” Theledi said.
“As Samwu, we are committed to working hand in hand with the new leadership to restore Tshwane to its former glory, a city that serves all its residents, regardless of their economic standing.
“We look forward to rebuilding healthy employer-employee relations and contributing to a future where fairness, dignity and respect guide the city’s leadership,” Theledi said.
Moya said “a fully functional, equipped and politically sensitive mayoral committee will be announced” in the coming days.
Nelson Mandela University political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast said Moya’s election would not pose a threat to the government of national unity (GNU). “The arrangement of the GNU is confined to national government, and its success depends on whether Ramaphosa’s faction continues holding on to power in the ANC.”
Breakfast said ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who is a former Joburg mayor, “takes pride in his legacy. He inherited a corrupt [Joburg] municipality and turned it around”. Mashaba wanted to do the same thing with Tshwane.
“They want to use the mayorship position as a stepping stone to get more votes ahead of the municipal elections in 2026 but it’s not going to be easy for ActionSA to work with the ANC and EFF. ActionSA believes in a free market system, the ANC believes in a mixed economy and the EFF is left.”
Update: October 9 2024
This story has been updated with new information throughout.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.