Mayor Brink is out

Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink lost a motion of no confidence following three months of embattled discussion about his fitness for office.

Brink faced his third motion of no confidence on September 26 following two previous motions, in July and August, that were not voted on for procedural and legal reasons.

ANC councillor Frans Boshielo said the motion was being brought due to the metro’s debt of R6-billion to Eskom and R15-million to Rand Water, delayed pension fund payments, unnecessary expenditure on new appointments, and a late submission of five quarterly audit performance committee reports.

Thursday’s council meeting saw councillors debate the motion before it was put to a vote by show of hands just before 15:00: 120 councillors voted for, while 87 councillors voted against the motion and there was one abstention.

In the debate, DA and FF+ councillors presented the work the coalition government under Brink has done since he came into office on March 28, 2023.

Councillors from ActionSA, EFF, ANC, and the PA presented their arguments, which aligned with the reasons identified in the reasons proposed by Boshielo.

The motion follows weeks of conflict and public discussion between Brink’s coalition partners before ActionSA formally left the coalition on September 14.

Brink said on Thursday morning before the council started that he was arriving with a fighting spirit.

“Whatever happens, we must now have political stability so that political leaders can be held to account for their performance at an election, and so that we don’t have political games affecting service delivery and the lives of our residents.

“I have come to this office with a sense of optimism every day. I feel very privileged to serve the people of the capital city, to steer us towards financial recovery, energy independence and gradually improving service delivery.”

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said the motion was a final blow to good governance in Tshwane.

“Today will go down in history as a day that an outright backstabber sunk a functional government, and in doing so traded stability for chaos.”
He blamed ActionSA for handing power to the ANC.

“The doomsday coalition has now taken over Tshwane and it will go the same road as Joburg and Ekurhuleni. A future of urban decay and service delivery failure lies ahead for the good citizens of Tshwane.”

He said the DA will keep a close watch going forward.

“The people of Tshwane deserve better than the instability made possible by ego-driven individuals who, in betraying them, have also betrayed South Africa.

“The DA caucus will proudly take up our seats as the official opposition in Tshwane.”

ActionSA Gauteng chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni, welcomed the removal of an “average DA mayor”.

“The decisive step taken today brings an end to an eight-year failed reign of the DA in Tshwane,” said Ngobeni.

“It is precisely because we have been part of mediocre governance that we felt we have a duty to act in the interests of those who deserve better, all the residents of Tshwane.”

He said the party had had power since 2016, but that since then, residents said service delivery had declined, especially in townships compared to urban areas.

“It is for this reason, and many others, that ActionSA Tshwane councillors joined forces with the ANC and other parties in voting out DA mayor Brink, and within 14 days, we will join forces again in voting for the new mayor.”

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