Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga launches Listening tour. Image: @Our_DA/Twitter
Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga took a Metrorail train from Pretoria train station to Saulsville Metrorail train station in Atteridgeville on Monday as part of a listening tour in Tshwane to engage with Gauteng residence on issues they faced daily. Msimanga is on the offensive after surviving two motions of no confidence votes from the ANC and EFF recently.
The mayor said it was important to start the listening tour in Atteridgeville where he grew up.
Some of the grievances from commuters to the mayor were bad services, the quality of trains which they raised and nothing was done, including complaints on the state of housing.
“Corruption is stealing from our people and the DA is ready to change that,” said Msimanga.
While addressing the community, Msimanga mentioned he had grown up working at a local spaza shop pouring paraffin into bottles and packing chips for a living.
“We’ve started this tour to listen to what the people of Gauteng want. We don’t want to be a governing party which does not listen to what the people want ahead of the 2019 elections when the DA plans to win the 2019 elections in Gauteng,” Msimanga said in a video he shared on social media.
He said the youth were tired of unemployment and he was there to listen to the challenges in order for the DA to bring change to the community.
On Thursday, the ANC and EFF’s proposed motion of no confidence against Msimanga was withdrawn.
The EFF’s motion of no confidence vote was dismissed on a technicality.
The ANC followed the EFF out of the council chambers following their own withdrawal of their motion against Msimanga.
The Tshwane mayor has made it clear that he was unfazed by the attempts to oust him and added that EFF’s choice to support the ANC was a clear demonstration that they supported corruption and wrongdoing.