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Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink Holds Firm Amidst Calls for Resignation
Cilliers Brink will stay put as the Mayor of Tshwane despite mounting pressure and calls for his resignation after the prolonged municipal workers’ strike.
Tshwane, the capital city, has been in a crisis for over a month. The dispute began when the municipality failed to implement salary increases in July, as agreed upon in a 2021 bargaining agreement with its approximately 16,000 employees.
Brink’s steadfastness arises from the city’s dire financial situation, which he claims prevents the implementation of salary increases, consequently leading to an unlawful strike and disruptions in service delivery.
Councillor Ofentse Moalusi, Chairperson of Tshwane Cope, has been one of the voices demanding Brink’s immediate resignation. Moalusi characterised Tshwane as a state of disaster, citing the current administration’s lack of leadership, empathy, vision, and direction. According to Moalusi, the city has been grappling with issues such as inaccurate customer billing, uncollected waste piling up on residents’ doorsteps, and failure to meet financial commitments to key suppliers like Eskom and Rand Water.
Also read: City of Tshwane – No Funds for Salary Increases Amid Strike
Furthermore, Moalusi pointed out that Tshwane is losing an estimated R1.2 billion annually due to water leakages, illegal water connections, and malfunctioning or vandalised water meters. The city’s short-term liabilities have reportedly exceeded its short-term assets for several years, and it cannot resell water it purchases from Rand Water due to significant losses in its distribution network.
Moalusi also expressed concern about the city’s failure to submit annual financial statements to the Auditor-General’s office, suggesting potential financial irregularities.
In response, Jordan Griffiths, Chief of Staff for Mayor Brink, assured the public that service delivery would gradually return to normal, and Mayor Brink had no intentions of resigning. Griffiths stated that the mayor enjoyed the full support of the multi-party coalition to revitalise Tshwane. Security measures had been enhanced at various sites to ensure business continuity, and plans were in place to restore waste collection and other services to total capacity.
Despite the ongoing challenges and calls for his resignation, Mayor Brink remains committed to leading the city through these troubled times, believing that the multi-party coalition can bring about positive change for Tshwane.
Source: Mayor to stay put, promises business as usual soon
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Picture: X / tshwane_mayor
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