But the DA took to Twitter to tell Makhura to stop “politicking,” reminding him that he had “acknowledged” that Msimanga was doing good work in Tshwane.
DA ‘crybabies’ call out Makhura for flipping on Msimanga
The Gauteng premier made fun of Solly Msimanga on Thursday, but had been full of glowing praise for the DA mayor last year.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura. Photo: Tracy Lee Stark.
After Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina survived a motion of no confidence on Thursday, Gauteng premier David Makhura called the opposition “crybabies,” and added that his party was “leading here in Ekurhuleni” in an address.
The Gauteng mayor boasted about a series of achievements, including his claim to have “invested R20 billion in the township economy”, as well as having invested “more in our youth,” and given “land back to our people”.
He laid claim to Ekurhuleni being the best-run metro in Gauteng, and said his hope for the 2019 elections was that the ANC’s portion of the vote would rise above 60%.
He then couldn’t resist taking another jab at the DA, saying the party “only has body builders but we have university graduates who are mine builders”.
READ MORE: Msimanga defends paying diary-coordinating bodybuilder a million rand
Makhura was alluding to a scandal Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga faced over his office employing a 34-year-old bodybuilder who earns about a million rand annually, and whose only job is apparently to coordinate the mayor’s diary.
Msimanga defended the appointment of Stefan de Villiers at the time, while ANC caucus spokesperson Lesego Makhubela accused him of allowing “incompetent, unqualified, inexperienced and unskilled white DA members” to break the law and flout recruitment policies.
READ MORE: Msimanga won’t back down on ‘spaza shop’ Makhura
In 2017, City Press reported that the Gauteng premier was full of praise for the Tshwane mayor despite the fact that the two were from rival parties.
“He is one of the best mayors in the whole country. Those who don’t know can’t really tell that we belong to two different parties. I work with the mayor in everything. He is my friend and my mayor, too. Our vision for the City of Tshwane is the same,” Makhura said at the time.
The pair’s relationship seems to have broken down since then, with Msimanga accused of disrespecting Makhura in July after saying the premier seemed to think he was running a “spaza shop”.
Hey Premier @David_Makhura.
Remember this 👇🏽
Stop politicking. You know @SollyMsimanga is doing good work in Tshwane. You acknowledged it. #MasinaNoConfidence pic.twitter.com/0EHfjgGEE8
— Democratic Alliance Gauteng Legislature (@DA_GPL) October 25, 2018
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