Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink. Picture: Neil McCartney
While the City of Tshwane is teetering on the brink of political turmoil with its fragile coalition government in tatters, negotiations between the DA and ANC could ensure Cilliers Brink retains the mayoral chain.
The Tshwane metro council must vote on Thursday on a motion of no confidence, which the ANC has tabled against the beleaguered Brink.
A source from the ANC’s national inner circle confirmed to Rapport that party leaders have agreed to a new unity government for South Africa’s capital, with, among others, the DA.
Negotiations are being conducted at national level and are led by the DA’s federal chairperson Helen Zille and Solly Msimanga, DA leader in the Gauteng Legislature and a former Tshwane mayor.
“How they [the local party representatives] will implement the decision [to cooperate with the DA] is up to them,” said the Sunday publication’s ANC source.
Come Thursday, the outcome of these negotiations might very well see Brink remain in the mayor’s seat, according to the source.
ActionSA national chairperson, Michael Beaumont, who left Tshwane’s ruling multi-party coalition, said on Friday that he expects the ANC and DA to form a city government.
The party recently announced that it is leaving the multi-party coalition. The coalition had a slim majority of two seats in the metro council, and without ActionSA’s 19 seats, this majority is gone.
The remaining parties are the DA, FF-Plus, IFP, ACDP, and COPE.
The rapid shift in the political landscape in Tshwane could leave ActionSA, which currently holds the position of deputy mayor and a member on the mayoral committee, on the opposition benches.
ALSO READ: ActionSA ditches DA-led coalition in Tshwane, eyes new alliances
Grandi Theunissen, leader of the FF-Plus in Tshwane, confirmed to Rapport that “there is an offer on the table.”
Whether the ANC will withdraw the motion of no confidence before Thursday’s council meeting is however still unclear.
Brink has described the potential coalition shake-up as a “betrayal” and a disruption to the progress made by the City of Tshwane.
His attempt to stave off the threat of a motion of no confidence serves to highlight the tenuous nature of the current administration.
When approached for comment, a tight-lipped Brink did not want to say much more than that the DA approached the ANC seeking a stability agreement to maintain the current multi-party coalition.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba stated recently that the party is “officially doing a review of removing Brink and we are not apologising to anyone about it.”
Mashaba’s discontent stems from allegations that the DA has been managing the city primarily for the middle-class while neglecting essential services for broader communities.
He criticised the DA for alleged corruption, particularly in relation to a contentious R26-billion tender allegedly involving former Tshwane mayor Randall Williams
Williams, who resigned as DA PR councillor earlier this year, is the subject of a probe relating to the unsolicited bid to refurbish Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations.
“We made it clear to the DA we would not vote for it because it was unconstitutional, illegal, and fraud,” Mashaba declared at the time.
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