The ANC and EFF are the biggest beneficiaries of DA councillor Cilliers Brink’s removal as Tshwane mayor, after their councillors were appointed to big budget portfolios including finance, health and human settlements by Brink’s successor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, on Sunday.
Announcing her 10-member mayoral committee at the weekend, the ActionSA mayor appointed ANC Tshwane regional chair Eugene Modise as the finance member of the mayoral committee (MMC); EFF Tshwane regional secretary, councillor Tshegofatso Mashabela, as health MMC; ANC councillor Aaron Maluleka as housing and human settlements MMC; ANC councillor Frans Boshielo as utility services MMC; and EFF Tshwane regional chair Obakeng Ramabodu as the environment and agriculture management MMC.
The other appointments included:
- Community and social development services: Palesa Modise (ANC)
- Economic development and spatial planning: Sarah Mabotsa (GOOD)
- Corporate and shared services: Kholofelo Morodi (ActionSA)
- Roads and transport: Tlangi Mogale (ANC)
- Community safety: Alderman Hannes Coetzee (ActionSA)
Brink, who was removed through an ANC-sponsored motion of no confidence on September 26, which the EFF and ActionSA supported, said after his ousting that Moya would be in office but not 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.”
Brink said on Sunday the two portfolios given to the EFF in Moya’s mayoral cabinet “are bad news for clean administration and a pro-growth agenda”.
“The DA warned ActionSA and the ANC that their new coalition would give the balance of power in the capital city to the EFF, and this is exactly what has happened.
“It is difficult to see how mayor Moya, a junior partner in her own coalition government, will constrain the forces that have caused so much chaos and decay in Gauteng. It is significant that premier Panyaza Lesufi flanked mayor Moya when she announced her mayoral committee, as if the premier was there in a supervisory role, much like he did with former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda in Johannesburg,” Brink said.
“The DA will work with parties that have opted not to join this coalition of chaos to protect the progress that has been made in Tshwane. Later this month the DA will announce the team of councillors who will be responsible for holding the new ANC/EFF coalition to account.”
EFF Gauteng chair Nkululeko Dunga said: “The EFF Gauteng appreciates the establishment of a government composed of various political formations, recognising that this will require genuine political maturity and collaborative efforts to ensure quality service delivery and stability in the city. Importantly, this appointment marks a significant milestone for the EFF, as it represents the involvement of the organisation in all three metros in Gauteng. This development cements the pivotal role of the EFF in the formation of local government across the province and the country.”
Moya said she would ensure the mayoral committee was held accountable for its collective duty to serve the capital city’s residents: “Each member will be expected to perform their duties with diligence and integrity, upholding the highest ethical standards.”
In the coming days, we will hold our first official meeting, where we will develop a collective plan of action to fix our city, driven by the belief that our residents deserve better.
— Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya
Her executive would prioritise safety and security concerns, economic development and job creation efforts, infrastructure investment and inclusive service delivery, good governance, and energy and fiscal sustainability, among others.
“In the coming days, we will hold our first official meeting, where we will develop a collective plan of action to fix our city, driven by the belief that our residents deserve better,” Moya said.
ANC Gauteng secretary Thembinkosi “TK” Nciza said Moya’s election as mayor came as the metro was confronted with “governance challenges that have impeded its ability to maintain its long-standing record as one of the most well-run and fiscally prudent municipalities in SA”.
“The municipality’s finances have been in a perilous state since the advent of the DA-led coalition government that governed Tshwane for the past eight years and left a devastating impact on service delivery, the finances of the city, brought down the morale of workers and overall governance within the city. The ANC in Gauteng vows to give support to the newly elected executive mayor together with all parties involved in constituting government in the City of Tshwane,” Nciza said.
In the 2021/22 financial year, the Tshwane metro received an adverse audit opinion. In 2022/23 it registered irregular expenditure of R10bn, though its audit opinion improved to a qualified one.
Brink’s ousting follows the auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke’s recent remarks over political instability in local councils, saying it has affected service delivery. Political instability has featured a revolving door of mayors in Gauteng’s three metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane as the results of the 2021 local government elections did not produce a clear winner, resulting in parties forming coalitions to run the councils.
Unisa political analyst Prof Lesiba Teffo said Brink’s removal was not about poor service delivery, as alleged by his detractors.
“In the main it’s about access to resources and the supply chain,” Teffo said, noting that Tshwane municipal employees were ANC deployees and viewed themselves as loyal “card-carrying members”.
They made sure the DA was “seen” to be not performing and in the process “they sabotaged their own people they are meant to serve. They are prepared to destroy water infrastructure so that their water tankers can deliver water. But there will be a price to pay for the ANC, come 2026. People are no longer gullible”.
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