Cilliers Brink finally elected Tshwane mayor after three attempts

A third time lucky process saw Tshwane finally able to elect Cllr. Cilliers Brink as the new mayor on Tuesday.

Cope member Ofentse Moalusi had been running against Brink, the coalition partners’ mayoral candidate

Two council members did not vote while 211 did so. Brink won with 109 votes, while Moalusi received 102 votes from fellow councillors during a special council meeting.

The numbers did not amount to 214 as ward 105 was vacant.

The Democratic Alliance fielded Brink for the position of Executive Mayor of Tshwane for the second time this month.

Brink was endorsed by the multiparty coalition after mayor Randall Williams resigned on February 13.

Brink is the 4th DA mayor of the city.
He is a law graduate of the University of Pretoria, and was elected as a councillor in Tshwane in 2011.

Brink also served as member of the mayoral committee for corporate and shared services from 2016 to 2019 under Former Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga.

In addition to his role as national spokesperson, Brink served on the portfolio committee for cooperative governance and traditional affairs (CoGTA) since his election to Parliament in 2019.

Brink is expected to announce his Mayco members soon.

He said in the following months Tshwane had to avoid more debt.

“We have to get control of Tshwane’s finances, and bring our spending in line with what the city can realistically hope to collect.”

Brink said in the past three years a number of factors had a devastating effect on the city’s financial position.

“To restore the balance between incomes and expenditures, Tshwane will have to make difficult decisions that we no longer have the luxury to avoid.”

He said to reduce dependence on Eskom, Tshwane also had to find alternative means of supplying electricity to residents.

Tshwane Council Speaker, Mncedi Ndzwanana also announced COPE’s replacement of Justice Sefanyetso with Moalusi, despite an alleged court process at the centre of the replacement.

Sefanyetso was the replacement for Dr Murunwa Makwarela, however due to internal squabbles, he was replaced with Moalusi.

It was alleged that Sefanyetso had two ID numbers and a criminal record. However Cope said that Sefanyetso had a traffic offence in 2001 and a fine was issued, which he paid, while the IEC had erred in documents creating confusion around his identity.

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Tshwane’s COPE spokesperson Brain Mkhono said Sefanyetso had approached the Johannesburg high court and Pretoria high court after Moalusi was registered in Tshwane on March 22.

He was sworn in as a Cllr on March 28, 2023.

“The person was not a resident of Tshwane at the time. He was a resident of Johannesburg,” alleged Mkhono.

“There might likely be changes [to his position] next week.”

Mkhono alleged that Moalusi’s advancement in Tshwane was due to rogue elements.

“His stay in Tshwane is going to be short-lived.

“Rogue elements in Cope are typing, removing and appointing people without the authority of the party.”

He blamed Johannesburg Cope council speaker Colleen Makhubela for removing Sefanyetso as a council member in Tshwane.

“Makhubela has no right to remove anyone and holds no position in party structures, besides speaker.”

Gauteng chairperson Tom Mofokeng, who still claims to hold the position, said Sefanyetso was removed because he did not present his papers for verification to the electoral college.

“Every public representative of Cope needs to go through the electoral college, where vetting takes place. Sefanyetso’s papers were not there.

“I have never seen his membership. This is why he has been eliminated.”

Mofokeng further denied to clarify the relationship of Makhubela and Moalusi, which is alleged to have been linked to his neing catapulted into the Tshwane council.

“We will not talk about things from the street. As a party we don’t have that allegation put before us,” he said.

“If it’s true the party will look into it.”

ALSO READ: One week later – and not Tshwane mayor anymore

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