Dear Editor
The premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, faces many crises that require his diligent attention. The most obvious one is the Rand Water supply crisis currently afflicting municipalities and their residents. Instead the premier seems to be dedicating his time to playing political games.
The DA takes note of Lesufi’s statement that “the provincial ANC will enter into talks with other political parties in Tshwane in a bid to remove the DA from power”, and we assure him that we will fight him every step of the way.
We know what happened the last time the ANC provincial executive in Gauteng intervened Tshane. Provincial ANC administrators found a surplus of R296 million on its operating budget, and by the time they left the city had a R4 billion deficit. Systems and controls were also destroyed.
In fact, the multi-party coalition in Tshwane is still trying to repair the damage done to the city by the province’s administrators. This ‘intervention’ was eventually set aside by a court of law, and the ANC received even fewer votes in Tshwane in the 2021 local government than it did in the 2016 local government election.
The newly elected mayor of Johannesburg is a puppet, and he will have many masters. The ANC could manipulate smaller parties like the Patriotic Alliance to sell out their voters, because no single party or coalition in Joburg had a clear majority. Tshwane’s multi-party coalition does have a majority.
The DA will keep a close eye on Lesufi and the actions of the Gauteng provincial executive. In 2020 we stopped their unlawful power grab in Tshwane, and the precedent from that court case gives us even stronger firepower for prevent similar abuse in future.
If Lesufi wants to help the people of Tshwane, he should prioritise his job as premier over his job as provincial chairperson of the ANC. He has a constitutional obligation to support municipalities, including those that are not governed by the ANC, which in Gauteng is now the majority of municipalities.
Regards
Cilliers Brink MP
DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs (CoGTA)
