Mkhonto scoffs at politicised street cleaning

DA proportional representative councillor Shadrack Mkhonto urged for patience on the fate of the City of Joburg‘s governance in the lead up to the 2021 local government elections.

“It’s only 18 months from now when the nation will go to the polls for the harmonised local and provincial elections,” said Mkhonto whose party-led coalition recently ceded power back to the ANC which also administers the City through a coalition.

He attributed the DA’s loss to upheavals in the party which resulted in its top leadership resigning. “The unease in the party when Herman Mashaba resigned as the City mayor and party member, and Mmusi Maimane resigning as national leader created a vacuum that was exploited by the ANC to usurp the power. The results of the forthcoming elections will show who the public trusts to govern the city. They [public] know they were robbed in the interim leadership tussle in which they played no role in the change of the City’s governance.”

Mkhonto said the public was happy with the service delivery record under Mashaba’s administration. “It’s up to anyone to match it. It was pro-poor and skewed in favour of service delivery to townships which need it the most through among others, provision of water, facilities, jobs and housing.”

He claimed that the DA administration also made a significant dent on endemic corruption which they inherited from an ANC administration he alleged siphoned public resources which were needed for service delivery and the creation of employment. He feared that this malfeasance would recur.

“There are already indications of reversals on Mashaba’s achievements with among others, rumours of the disbanding of an anti-corruption unit which nabbed well-connected drug dealers and robbery kingpins.” He alleged that cadre deployment was back with those who had been fired by the DA returning to their previous jobs.

“They [cadres] had been dismissed through due and audited processes which found them unfit and unqualified for their public office roles. We had replaced them with persons properly qualified for the purpose regardless of political affiliation.”

Mkhonto added that Mashaba’s record was also being vindicated by recent pronouncements of planned protests and petitions against undocumented foreign nationals, and parliamentary processes which were focusing on strengthening controls at borders.

“He [Mashaba] was accused of fanning xenophobia when he called for improved control at our porous borders,” Mkhonto said attributing the social unease, street loitering and unrelenting crime to desperate local and foreign job seekers.

He also dismissed the new City administration’s claim that their clean-up campaign led by Mayor Geoff Makhubo was community and not politically driven as was Mashaba’s initiative. “It is disingenuous to politicise a public service activity. It’s clear they [ANC] have adopted a good practice on environmental health which should instead be scaled up through weekly non-partisan partnerships led by the residents with the City providing them back up.”

Mkhonto scoffed at allegations that DA activists led by Mashaba wore party regalia during the clean-up initiatives for political gain and with the intention to exclude others. “Citizens have the right to wear what they want provided it is not offensive and complies with national laws.”

He urged the clean-ups to be inclusive to maximise public health awareness and make it a culture which was introduced by Mashaba who followed the example set by the capital of Rwanda, Kigali.

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