Herman Mashaba speaks near Bree Taxi Rank in Johannesburg as Action SA launches their first government election campaign, 9 September 2021. Picture: Neil McCartney
As the battle for Tshwane intensified – with just four days left to the municipal elections, Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen entered the heart of Mamelodi with a promise to residents that his party will open the gates to service delivery.
While Steenhuisen was busy in Tshwane, ANC deputy president David Mabuza was trying to wow voters at Benoni in Ekurhuleni.
And today, the ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba will deliver the party’s message of “tested service delivery and hope” to residents at Old Park Station in Newtown, Johannesburg.
The ANC and DA are battling to outdo each other to control Gauteng’s three metros – Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni.
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But new player ActionSA is promising to disrupt the dual power race and steal seats from the two.
With 56 proportional representation candidates vying for the City of Joburg council alone, both the ANC and the DA have a huge task to convince voters they could do better than Mashaba’s service delivery record in the city.
Mashaba took his campaign to Soweto, Eldorado Park South, Eldorado Park Extension 3, Klipspruit West and Slovo Park Tuesday to testify about his record of service delivery in these areas from when he was Joburg mayor.
The DA, which held a rally at Solomon Mahlangu Square in Mamelodi East on Wednesday, urged residents to give it just five years to continue with the journey it started in 2016 when it took over power in Tshwane.
Steenhuisen said voters should vote for the DA because votes for the ANC would be voting for thugs who stole from the state coffers because they were “tsotsis, sgebengas”.
The DA leader – nicknamed “John Vuli-gate” because of his promise that the DA would open the taps of water, housing and other services – urged the residents not to waste their time by voting for the smaller parties.
He said the smaller parties were like a “one-night stand – they would wake up in morning and leave them and never phone again”.
ALSO READ: ‘Vote for small party if you want Change’
He said the DA-led council had almost wiped out Tshwane’s deficit in the short space of time it had reigned.
It reduced the metro’s budget deficit of R4.3 billion – that it inherited from the ANC administration – by R3.4 billion.
The DA promised to eradicate the outstanding deficit of R900 million in the current financial year.
According to DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Randall Williams, the DA delivered Tshwane a newly refurbished licensing centre, built a new fire-station for Mamelodi and refurbished a stadium for R34 million.
In addition a total of 1 200 housing units were built in Tshwane.