Tshwane mayor confident that coalition will hold firm, despite rifts in other metros

The Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni metros are giving the DA a hard time as its mayors Mpho Phalatse and Tania Campbell have been subjected to motions of no confidence, had council proceedings disrupted and occasionally brought to a halt amid talks of the ANC’s plan to take back control of metros it lost after the November 2021 local government elections.

The executive mayor of the DA-led Tshwane multiparty coalition, Randall Williams, however, says he is unfazed over talks said to be taking place between the EFF and ANC about forming an alliance to extinguish DA rule in the metros. Addressing the media on Monday, a year after taking office, Randall and his executive took stock of what they had achieved.  

“Given the unstable nature of coalitions in our country, I am pleased that in the City of Tshwane we have been able to work together and reach a year without the coalition collapsing. A stable coalition government is critical if we are to successfully govern a large metropolitan municipality like the City of Tshwane,” he said during the briefing.  

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Prepare for a political roller coaster ride as parties jostle for positions in municipal coalitions”

The city claims to have made significant strides in service delivery, and Williams said they had been confronted with a number of challenges which they had risen above, for the benefit of its more than two million residents.  

He expressed confidence in the coalition’s ability to work together despite threats of the ANC’s plan to take back the metros it lost control of last year; it hopes to do this with the assistance of minority parties including the EFF.

Williams told Daily Maverick he was unfazed by the trends in Joburg and Ekurhuleni, which saw mayors face motions of no confidence and the approval of budgets delayed.

“For the ANC to put a coalition together, they need about 11 parties. The coalition in the metro is probably one of the most solid coalitions. There are only six parties that form our coalition. It would be very difficult for the ANC and the EFF to put a coalition together here,” said Williams.

‘Different dynamics’

“The conditions that exist in Ekurhuleni and Joburg do not exist here; the dynamics are different because they need far more parties for them to establish a coalition.”  

The DA’s coalition partners in Tshwane are ActionSA, Freedom Front Plus, African Christian Democratic Party, Inkatha Freedom Party and Congress of the People (Cope).  

“The six of us together have a majority coalition government, which gives us the advantage of being able to vote as a solid block in council. This is what sets the City of Tshwane apart from the other Gauteng coalition governments… in Tshwane we have a majority, meaning if we continue to work together, there will be no need for so-called kingmakers,” said Williams.  

When the coalition government took office, it announced 10 key objectives including the prioritisation of the electrical grid and water infrastructure, the provision of stringent financial management and oversight, a business-friendly city that promoted employment and economic growth, enhanced city safety, security and emergency services, and expansion of road infrastructure and public transportation.

Reflecting on service delivery, the executive said that during its 12 months in office, it had cut more than 183 million square metres of grass and repaired more than 75,000 potholes and about 60,000 streetlights.  

The ANC has, however, been critical of the progress made by the majority coalition, suggesting it was limited to certain areas.

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

Kgomotso Masilela, the spokesperson for the ANC caucus in Tshwane, told Daily Maverick: “The city is in a state of shambles, the city has collapsed. The city has not been able to fix the streetlights across the length and breadth of the city including rural and affluent areas where they would try by all means to take services.

“The city has experienced diesel challenges with its bus services, which have affected many depots. The city is filthy, the city’s graveyards are in a state of shock, so the coalition government led by the DA has not been able to do justice for the residents of Tshwane.”

While Williams said the progress made by the coalition was significant, he noted that the city’s biggest headache was its finances, which continued to be unstable.

“Unfortunately, our liquidity problems are going to be with us for a while. The fact remains that we inherited a R4.3-billion shortfall from the illegal administrators. Nonetheless, we have been working to turn around the city’s finances,” reads a statement by Williams.

The city’s money woes are despite the launch of the #TshwaneYaTima campaign, an aggressive revenue collection drive in which the city disconnects defaulting clients.

Williams said the campaign had helped to challenge the culture of non-payment, and revenue collection had increased from about R2.5-billion monthly earlier this year to R3.5-billion in some months. DM