The accusation of factionalism against Mayor Ramokgopa today by SACP regional secretary, Apson Makaung, confirms what the residents of Tshwane already know: ANC candidates would rather distract themselves with infighting and jockeying for positions, than focussing on governing.
Under Sputla, key indicators in Tshwane point to a City in decline:
- Unemployment is up from 24.2% in the 2011 Census, to 26% in the latest quarterly labour force survey. In total 517,000 people in Tshwane do not have jobs or have given up looking.
- For the past five years, Tshwane has not received a clean audit. Last year R1 886 200 000 was lost to financial misconduct according to Auditor General through unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
- According to the Non-financial Census of Municipalities, Tshwane has more people than any other metro that have to go more than 200m to reach a water point with 113,212 consumer units receiving water provision at a distance – for the DA-run Cape Town, that number is zero.
- According to the General Household Survey, Tshwane has the lowest percentage of households with access to a basic sanitation facility at 82% in comparison to 91.4% in Cape Town.
It is no coincidence that the City described by SACP provincial secretary, Jacob Mamabolo, as the “one city where we see the most vicious alliance fights in the province, even within the ANC,” is also the worst performer in terms of various service delivery indicators.
Clearly it is the people of Tshwane who are suffering while Sputla and his colleagues fight it out for control of the City’s resources.
Sputla, a known Zuma ally, failed to make the top spot on the ANC’s list. Despite this, no announcement of his successor as mayoral candidate has been made. This has raised serious questions about his position, and particularly whether his relationship with Accused #1 is what is standing in the way of his deposition.
Today, DA National Spokesperson, Phumzile Van Damme MP, publically called on the ANC to announce its Mayoral Candidates, which it has lied to South Africa about announcing since December 2015.
Until the ANC has resolved their internal battles, voters in Tshwane will be denied the opportunity to interrogate their choices for mayor. This is contrary to the spirit of democracy and another example of how the ANC puts itself ahead of those it is meant to serve.
Voters must know who they are voting for. That is why the DA has run the most democratic, transparent and open candidate selection process of any party and made our lists public. We challenge the ANC to do the same.
Solly Msimanga
DA Mayoral Candidate for Tshwane
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