Pretoria - The EFF in Tshwane has warned that the election of former DA MP Cilliers Brink as executive mayor spelled bad news for residents who were likely to endure years of poor service delivery under the multiparty coalition government.
Party regional chairperson Obakeng Ramabodu said the EFF noted with regret Brink’s ascension to the mayoral position after he won against Cope councillor Ofentse Moalusi on Tuesday.
“The election of Brink signifies the return of Tshwane residents to another seven years of poor service delivery under the multiparty coalition,” he said.
He cited the adverse audit finding by the auditor-general against the metro. “Tshwane was labelled the worst-performing municipality in Gauteng under the DA-led multiparty government.”
He accused Brink of introducing polygraph tests in the council, saying they “violated the spirit and principles of the secret ballot meant to ensure councillors exercise their discretion freely”.
He was referring to a decision by the DA to subject its councillors to lie detector tests after some were suspected of betraying the party by voting for former council speaker, Dr Murunwa Makwarela, as the executive mayor.
Makwarela has since resigned amid a scandal that he faked a solvency rehabilitation certificate.
Spokesperson for the multiparty coalition, Dr Corné Mulder, said: “The past few weeks have been a display of instability after the ANC and EFF sought to undermine the majority voters awarded to the political parties that constitute our multiparty coalition.”
He said the multiparty coalition wanted Brink to ensure that service delivery was placed at the forefront of the council agenda. “For this to happen, the mayoral committee needs to be appointed and work must begin immediately to ensure that a service delivery budget is brought to council and that work begins immediately on improving governance in the city,” he said.
The city said this week it was granted an extension by the Gauteng provincial treasury for passing its adjustment budget after it missed its February 28 deadline to do so.
Brink promised to run a clean, effective and corruption-free administration and to provide reliable basic services.
In a media statement yesterday, the ANC in Tshwane said: “The executive mayor must focus on stabilising the finances of the city and ensure that all the residents of the city receive much-needed and long-awaited services.”
Pretoria News