‘Finish what we started’ – Cilliers Brink to remain as City of Tshwane mayor

City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink has affirmed his commitment to his current position, indicating that he will maintain his role instead of representing the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Parliament.

The DA on Monday announced its candidates for the national and provincial legislatures ahead of this year’s general elections.

Brink to remain as Tshwane mayor

Brink participated in a 10-month-long candidate selection process executed by the DA’s federal council chairperson, Helen Zille.

However, he was left out of the DA’s official national list released by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on Tuesday.

The Tshwane mayor was ranked in third for the Gauteng candidate list.

This means he won’t return as Member of Parliament (MP) in the National Assembly.

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Brink has since confirmed that he will stay on as the executive mayor to “finish what we started”.

“Big announcement. I’m staying on as mayor of Tshwane. To finish what we started as a coalition: restore the finances, build energy independence, and improve services.

“In the face of cadres, tenderpreneurs, and everyone else who would prefer Joburg-like leadership in Tshwane,” Brink said on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.

Big announcement. I’m staying on as Mayor of @CityTshwane . To finish what we started as coalition: restore the finances, build energy independence, and improve services. In the face of cadres, tenderpreneurs, and everyone else who would prefer Joburg-like leadership in Tshwane.

— Cilliers Brink (@CilliersB) March 26, 2024

Tshwane audit results

Brink has been in office for almost a year after his election as mayor in March 2023.

He took over the mayoral seat after the resignations of DA councillor Randall Williams and former Congress of the People (Cope) councillor Murunwa Makwarela.

The Tshwane mayor has indicated that he is targeting an unqualified audit opinion in the 2023/2024 financial year for the metropolitan municipality.

Last year, the city received an adverse finding from the auditor-general after failing to meet the deadline for submitting financials and irregular expenditure.

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Now Brink has anticipated positive feedback from the auditor-general’s office because the city was “actively addressing its issues”, according to the mayor.

“In the meantime, a lot of work has been done, especially to fix two of the three major auditor-general findings: cash flow and trade payables [the money paid to creditors].

“We have a new chief financial officer and new systems and controls to manage money going out and money coming in.

“Our goal is not compliance, but to ensure maximum accountability and procure maximum value for the money spent on residents’ behalf,” Brink said last month.

We’re aiming for an unqualified opinion this year, ending June 2024.

— Cilliers Brink (@CilliersB) March 26, 2024

DA candidate list

Meanwhile, DA leader John Steenhuisen topped his party’s candidates’ list for Parliament.

Other prominent figures on the national list include current MPs such as incumbent chief whip Siviwe Gwarube, Glynnis Breytenbach, the party’s Eastern Cape leader Andrew Whitfield, Mat Cuthbert and Leon Schreiber.

Former Western Cape DA leader Bonginkosi Madikizela also made the list.

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Madikizela tendered his resignation in April 2021 after a suspension for misrepresentation of his qualifications.

He acknowledged not completing his BCom degree, but emphasised that it was not a prerequisite for holding political office.

Additional reporting by: Marizka Coetzer