The EFF in Tshwane described the DA’s proposal for a deputy mayor position as an unnecessary addition to the council which would serve no purpose other than squandering taxpayers’ money.
The party’s regional secretary, Tshegofatso Mashabela, said the appointment lacked substantive value, saying that it would only contribute to wasteful expenditure.
“We firmly believe that this proposal is nothing more than a political manoeuvre aimed at appeasing their coalition partner, ActionSA.
“We firmly reject this notion and emphasise our commitment to responsible governance.
“The EFF, in its reasonable discretion, will not condescend to the frivolous idea of appointing a superfluous deputy mayor,” Mashabela said.
The EFF’s utterances follow ActionSA’s announcement that it would on Monday announce its nominee for the capital’s deputy executive mayor position.
The announcement is expected to be made by the party’s national chairperson, Michael Beaumont.
In their communiqué, ActionSA’s spokesperson, Samkelo Mgobozi, said the party had consistently been advocating for the need for a deputy mayor in order to ensure that the principles of co-governance were applied.
Mgobozi said the move would not only ensure governance, but also deepen the power-sharing, also to produce stability within coalition partners.
“The election of deputy mayor is imperative in order to stave off a replay of previous government missteps concerning pressing matters such as the workers’ strike and the Rooiwal wastewater treatment saga,” he emphasised.
However, Mashabela reiterated that the appointment of a deputy mayor would be disastrous for the municipality.
She further told ‘The Star’ that as the organisation they would not be voting in favour of appointing a deputy mayor.
“The EFF is happy to vote in favour of insourcing workers and putting the needs of the people of Tshwane first; however, we will not be voting for this proposal of a deputy mayor as it is clear it is simply a means of satisfying party ambitions and a way of keeping ActionSA happy as a coalition partner,” explained Mashabela.
She said the metro was operating on a mayoral system as opposed to an executive committee system.
“This decision proposed by Cilliers Brink, like the spoiled IEC ballots of the DA, is entirely in contravention of the Municipal Structures Act. Furthermore, there is no capacity whatsoever in the ActionSA inexperienced caucus to diligently execute mayoral responsibilities.”
The regional secretary furthermore said that as the EFF, they would hope to see actions that were genuinely aimed at empowering the people of Tshwane in the future.
Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem weighed in on the matter, describing the DA’s proposal to create a deputy mayor office as being “very insensitive”.
“Not so long ago the City pleaded poverty, saying the City doesn’t have money to effect the increment of the workers,” added Bloem.
He also did not miss an opportunity to take a swipe at ActionSA for being the first organisation to put forward a candidate which sought to occupy the position.
“It is also disgusting for ActionSA to be first to nominate a candidate to occupy that position, the very same party who always pretend as if they are on the side of the residents and workers.”
He concluded by saying that the Activists and Citizens Forum spokesperson Dennis Bloem condemned what he called an “insensitive decision”.
The publication’s attempts to solicit a comment from both the City’s spokesperson Sipho Stuurman and the coalition party’s spokesperson Corne Mulder were unsuccessful at the time of publication. | The Star
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