Tshwane Metro has again elected another mayor in Dr Nasiphi Moya a councillor of ActionSA.
The deputy mayor ascended to the seat of a mayor voted out through a vote of no confidence.
As the Devoted Citizen NGO movement, we share the aspirations that people will be on the lookout to determine whether the changes would improve the lives of the populace or if the political elite is only changing for their gain.
Cilliers Brink, who is councillor of the DA, was only in the position since early 2023 when Cope’s Mufunwa Makwarela was forced to quit after a scandal.
The DA’s relationship with its splinter group, ActionSA, broke prior to this expulsion. The ActionSA accused the DA of allowing the alliance to disintegrate after the 2021 elections because it perceived DA arrogance in the coalition.
The two weeks leading up to the vote of no confidence were when the ActionSA and the DA needed to talk and collaborate the most, and that’s when their verbal sparring became more intense. The attempt to portray ActionSA negatively to the ANC did not increase the coalition’s chances of survival.
The DA mayor had done well to market his efforts at fixing problems that have beset this metro for a long time. Brink improved his public relations efforts, especially about what his administration was doing about corruption, incomplete projects, electricity and water issues, and turning the capital into a smart city.
But the political tide still turned. The ActionSA agreement with the ANC that it was time for a new administration dealt a blow to the DA administration. This seems to have less to do with issues of performance on the city goals than failure to manage the politics that kept the DA-led coalition together.
This happened at a time when the DA-ANC relations in Gauteng had soured after the two failed to replicate national-level cooperation. Some public display of anger and disdain was then expressed in public, further deepening the fissure. The DA-FF+ also squared up in the Western Cape, leading to tensions. The DA became isolated.
The success in bringing change to mayorship in Johannesburg without the help of the DA emboldened the ANC to seek the same in Tshwane. This wind of change got fanned up and excitement built up. When Brink got voted out and later Moya got elected as the new mayor, the momentum had become unstoppable.
Now the question facing the new administration is what is the plan for the city’s dire state of finances? What will be done to consolidate some positive achievements of the Brink era? What will be low-hanging fruits to pick up ahead of the 2026 local government elections?
These questions have a bearing on the stability of the new coalition in a municipality that has seen four mayors in less than four years.
The city dwellers deserve nothing but the full implementation of the approved plans in the shortest possible time. The Devoted Citizen, as an NGO movement, will watch the actions of the new leadership and listen less to its words.
Siphamandla Zondi is a Professor at the University of Johannesburg and a Volunteer with the Devoted Citizen NGO, promoting active citizenry.