Last week, the Tshwane Metropolitan Council installed its third mayor, ActionSA’s Dr Nasiphi Moya, in three years. What did the residents of the capital city do to deserve this?
They deserve better. What is Dr Moya bringing to the table? Experience and excellent academic qualifications. The incumbent is a former DA member and has served in different capacities in the official opposition and government. She also holds a PhD in political science. Interestingly, Dr Moya served as a deputy mayor in the previous administration, which was led by the DA.
She was also part of the executive and held an influential position. So, she should take the blame for the failures of the previous administration, if there are any. That said, I didn’t like the previous Tshwane executive mayor Cllr Cilliers Brink. He was arrogant and full of himself. The man also treated Tshwane employees like trash. He behaved like an apartheid-era leader. Damn!
That said, I don’t know why Brink was removed from power. The reasons advanced were weak and flimsy. The ANC and ActionSA (now coalition partners) just saw an opportunity to get into power and took advantage of it. It’s a power play. Not long ago, there were murmurs that the Mogale City executive mayor Cllr Danny Thupane would be voted out. Thupane has survived several attempts to remove him from power.
These attempts unsettle the municipality and its employees. My concern is that, in the coalition era, the process of removing and installing new mayors sidelines voters. Voters become spectators in a game they should be playing. This can’t be democracy, or is it?
Having the third executive mayor in a space of three years is a clear sign of instability in the City of Tshwane. There is just no way that the new coalition government will deliver in such a short space of time. Does the new coalition government care? Methinks not.
Thabile Mange, Mogale City
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