Tshwane coalition: We needed more time, says Mayor Williams

“We need more time to form more sophisticated coalitions if we want this to work,” says Randall Williams, newly re-elected mayor of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

He says that Germany, which has been forming coalitions since the 1940s, allows two months to form a coalition government – and it has a stable system. The two weeks we have are not enough, he says.

Williams was elected unopposed as Tshwane mayor on Tuesday (November 23) after the ANC decided not to nominate candidates for any office bearer positions, after the other parties indicated they would not support the ANC.

For the 12 months prior to November’s municipal election, Williams wore the mayoral chain and worked to restore stability to the embattled council, which had enjoyed little success as a coalition government.

In the five years since the previous municipal election, the city saw mayors come and go and was placed under administration by the provincial government in 2020. The DA challenged the move in court and the administration decision was overruled by the High and Constitutional courts.

Williams says the ANC’s move to abstain surprised him, but says the party probably realised it did not have a chance after the DA’s Tania Campbell and Mpho Phalatse took the mayoral positions in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg respectively, on Monday and Tuesday.

“Fortunately, most parties have learnt to work together, especially in the 12 months before this election, and things should therefore go a little smoother than before,” says Williams.

He admits that they still have big problems ‘inherited from the ANC’, but says he has put together a 10-point plan to guide him over the next five years.

“Going forward, we are hoping to still conclude a majority coalition,” says Williams.

“We have proven over the past 12 months what a minority coalition can do. This time around, I want to lead a majority to the benefit of Tshwane residents.”

According to Williams, coalition talks are still continuing on a national level between the political parties, with the aim of putting together a majority coalition.

But Williams is adamant that ‘the coalition door is open to all parties, except for the ANC and the EFF’.

WATCH: Re-elected Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams talks to journalist Izak du Plessis about coalitions, past challenges and future plans.