The ANC alliance partners in Tshwane have cast doubt on the motive of the political party to take over the reins of the municipality should it succeed in ousting Mayor Cilliers Brink from power on September 26.
While the alliance partners, which include the SACP, South African Civic Organisation and Cosatu, threw their support behind a looming move to remove Brink, they doubted “if ANC leadership will be able to run the city more effectively”.
Their concerns about the regional ANC’s ability to run the metro stemmed from the accusations that the party had constantly failed to consult with them on the intention to form a government of local unity (GLU).
They said: “The ANC, as a leader of the society, has the revolutionary duty to unite a revolutionary alliance. Its failures to execute its political duty to consult its alliance partners remain a concern.”
The concerns about the state of the alliance in Tshwane came under discussion during a left-axis regional meeting on Monday in Pretoria.
“The meeting further calls for provincial alliance collective leadership to intervene in the formation of the GLU in Tshwane to ensure that this process prioritises service delivery,” they said.
Part of the deliberations focused on the DA-led administration in Tshwane and Brink’s fate at the helm of the municipality.
In a joint media statement, the ANC alliance partners described the period in which the DA led the coalition government since 2016 as “nine wasted years”.
They cited mismanagement of funds previously flagged in the auditor-general reports as one of the 12 reasons why Brink should vacate office.
“In the past nine years, more than 300 municipal workers were unfairly dismissed at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as part of the DA strategic neo-liberal plan to reduce the municipal workforce, mainly targeting South African Municipal Workers Union members,” they said.
They also labelled as “racist” Brink’s recent remarks likening putting ANC in charge as being the same as having a drunkard to run a bottle store.
The ANC is expected to table a motion of no confidence against Brink during an ordinary council sitting on September 26 with the support of ActionSA and the EFF.
This follows the strained relationship between the DA and ActionSA, who are crucial members of the multiparty coalition bloc in Tshwane.
ActionSA has repeatedly said it was in the process of reviewing its position within the multiparty coalition government.
DA Tshwane spokesperson Kwena Moloto this week said his party and its partners in the Tshwane multi-party coalition “have made every attempt to persuade ActionSA to not withdraw from the coalition”.
“ActionSA’s response has been to treat its Tshwane coalition partners with absolute contempt. ActionSA leaders have behaved as if they are not bound by any coalition agreement, and that their internal processes take precedence over the commitments it made to its coalition partners,” Moloto said.
Pretoria News