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Rejection of Tshwane deputy mayor position ‘political showmanship’ says ActionSA
ActionSA has revealed its nominee for deputy executive mayor in the City of Tshwane
ActionSA national chairperson, Michael Beaumont. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
ActionSA has announced Nasiphi Moya as the party’s nominee for the first-ever position of deputy executive mayor in the City of Tshwane.
The move comes after the City of Tshwane passed a resolution to create the deputy mayor position during a council on 9 November last year in the face of opposition by the African National Congress (ANC), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and other political parties.
The proposal was later approved by the Gauteng MEC for local government.
‘Long time coming’
Speaking in a media briefing on Monday, ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the creation of the deputy mayor position “has been a long time coming” as the move was greenlit when the multi-party coalition agreement with the Democratic Alliance (DA) was signed in 2021.
“It is not something that has been recently created recently to deal with any dynamic within the coalition. It was deemed hugely necessary to make sure we broaden and deepen co-governance within the municipality of Tshwane.
“As we have so often said we can all appreciate that coalition governments is the future in South Africa whether we like it or not,” he said.
Beaumont said the position was not usual as there was already deputy mayors in other metros such as eThekwini and the City of Cape Town.
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“As a matter of fact, it is already common cause in many provinces that the idea of deputy mayors is taking route so that power-sharing and co-governance become a fundamental principle behind local government coalitions.”
He continued to say the EFF’s opposition against the deputy mayor position was “political showmanship”.
“It is massively hypocritical for the EFF to talk about somehow deputy mayor positions being a problem in the context of ailing cities when in fact, the EFF holds a number of deputy mayoral [positions] under their highly hypocritical governments with the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal,” Beaumont added.
Watch the briefing below:
‘Transversal functions’
Meanwhile, Moya said she had noted concerns and scepticism by opposition parties in council regarding the creation of the position.
“Let me assure the opposition that this position is not about prestige but about delivery and the opposition will find my door open if they would like to rise above partisan politics and prioritise the needs of their communities,” she said on Monday.
The deputy mayoral nominee, who has a PhD in political science obtained from the University of Western Cape (UWC), said her potential new role would bring “a unique opportunity to focus on transversal functions related to infrastructure development, repairs, and maintenance”.
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Overseeing capital projects and service delivery at the regional level will be part of the deputy mayor’s responsibilities, Moya highlighted.
“By having a coordinated approach to infrastructure and service delivery, we can achieve numerous benefits. One of the key advantages is the proper coordination of how funds are allocated across various projects.
“By following the money, we can track expenditures, prevent wastage, and ensure that resources are directed where they are needed most. Through this coordinated approach, we can maximise the benefits to our residents and enhance the quality and efficiency of service delivery,” she added.
According to Rekord, the City of Tshwane will have to scrap one MMC position for the deputy mayor position, which is expected would cost around R2 million a year.
This will reduce the number of the MMCs to nine, ensuring the deputy serves as the 10th member of the mayoral committee.
