Tshwane ActionSA not heading for a split – says Abel Tau
Speaking to Rekord this week, Tau said rumors that his resignation was prompted by issues with the party, were the furthest from the truth and at the heart of his step down was simply for him to “focus on the Tshwane Human Settlement portfolio”.
A former ActionSA Tshwane caucus leader has denied rumours that the party was facing instability and was headed for factionalism following his resignation from the top position.
The party announced the abrupt resignation of Tau as the party’s caucus leader in Tshwane, last week.
Shortly after the announcement of his resignation, political observers raised concerns about whether his resignation was prompted by possible internal fights. Tshwane ANC chairperson Kgosi Maepa took to social media and said Tau’s resignation suggested instability within the newly formed ActionSA.
Speaking to Rekord this week, Tau said this was the furthest thing from the truth and that at the heart of his resignation it was for him to “focus on the Tshwane Human Settlement portfolio”.
The MMC for Human Settlement said there were almost a million people in the region that his department needed to find substantial housing solutions for and this needed much more focus from him.
“There are flood victims which have not been relocated since 2019 due to a challenge in the acquisition of the land,” he said.
“There are 210 informal settlements in the region with around 500 000 people. There are about 25 000 people in hostels and 210 000 people staying in backyards. There are also people in the housing demand register.
“There are over a million people which the department must find sustainable housing solutions for and that portfolio needs a lot of attention.”
This on its own was a significant load of work coupled with leading a caucus after a “two-year” election campaign for municipal elections, Tau said it was “tolling”.
Tau’s resignation as caucus leader came after ActionSA and the DA had an impasse over the municipality’s budget. ActionSA said the municipality budget did not prioritise poor people. Initially, the party had said it would not vote for the budget with coalition partners. After some changes that were not implemented, ActionSA voted for the budget following several caucus meetings.
“Not at any point was I forced to resign because of the adjustment budget,” Tau said.
Tau said part of the reasons behind him stepping down was the competing dynamics under the coalition government leading the municipality. He said he needed time to focus on these to ensure that the human settlement department delivers what was promised to people during elections.
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He said the role of a caucus leader was responsible for oversight in several departments and with the role of an MMC already – there was a need for someone who would solely be responsible for all departments’ oversight.
“I needed to be able to share the load and give space and opportunity to other people to be leaders.”
His move was similar to that of ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba and John Moody who both resigned from the Johannesburg council as councillors and gave their roles to new councillors, he said.
In late January, a physical scuffle broke out among ActionSA party members at Tshwane house after some members voiced dissatisfaction at not getting jobs through the party. This led to political commentators saying the party was facing internal issues.
Tau said while there might be differences among members of the party but that these were no “internal fights”.
“Everyone has opinions on how we should deal with things. Thus you would expect those differences within an organisation. You will always hear different voices, it happens at every organisation across the board.”
Tau said the leadership of the party had difficulty accepting he was stepping down.
“There is nothing more to the resignation. I see the party doing much better.
“I will have more time to deal with the issues of the department and the communities.”
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