Randall Williams an excellent candidate for Tshwane mayor – DA

The DA has dismissed objections to its mayoral candidate for the City of Tshwane ahead of the council elections this week.

The party announced last week that Randall Williams would be its choice to replace the embattled Stevens Mokgalapa, who officially resigned from council last week.

Pressure had been mounting from within the DA caucus, provincial and national leadership, as well as opposition parties, for Mokgalapa to go.

The mayor was placed on special leave in November following leaked audio of him and former transport MMC Sheila Senkubuge engaged in an intimate act at the municipality’s offices.

The DA had also announced that its federal council had recommended the Federal Legal Commission (FLC) should hold a full disciplinary hearing against Mokgalapa for comments he made about his colleagues and governance issues in the audio recording.

“We will have to deal with the finalised FLC report, weigh up findings and sanctions,” said DA interim leader John Steenhuisen when quizzed about the disciplinary hearing Mokgalapa faces.

He added that the outgoing mayor would remain an “ordinary councillor” in the capital city pending the outcome of the FLC process, which “may or may not take place”.

Steenhuisen was briefing journalists following the DA federal council’s two-day meeting in Bruma on Sunday.

Mokgalapa’s last day in office is on Wednesday and, while council is due to sit on Thursday, News24 understands that the election of a new mayor has not been placed on the agenda ahead of that meeting.

This has raised concerns among some councillors, who say this means that by next week the City would not have passed its adjustment budget, thus possibly finding itself in a position where it could be placed under administration.

Meanwhile, Steenhuisen has called on ANC Tshwane chairperson Kgosi Maepa – who is also leader of the opposition – to go to the police if he truly believes Williams had done something wrong.

Last week, Maepa, alleged that the DA’s new mayoral candidate was involved in the GladAfrica saga, which resulted in the party’s first Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga falling from grace.

“We have received information that Randall Williams played a critical role in the R12-billion GladAfrica contract as leader of government business in council – more details to follow shortly. The AG (auditor-general) declared the contract irregular,” Maepa tweeted after hearing news of Williams’ candidacy.

“According to us, Mr Williams is an excellent person, untainted by anything, no one has charged him, no one has raised a complaint about him and will serve the people of Tshwane well,” Steenhuisen said.

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