Two new ward councillors share their plans

The two municipal by-elections have delivered winners from the DA party: Samantha de la Rey (Ward 44) and Mickey van der Westhuizen (Ward 98).

De la Rey told Rekord her plans for the ward include using a petition in council as an effective way for residents of Ward 44 to demand action on long-standing issues, such as broken or non-functional streetlights.

“Community members can effectively highlight the safety risks and quality of life concerns associated with inadequate lighting, particularly in high crime or high traffic areas. The petition not only puts pressure on ward councillors to prioritise the issue but also holds the metro accountable for its service delivery obligations. It creates a formal, documented call for action that the metro cannot easily ignore, ensuring residents’ voices are heard and their rights to basic municipal services are upheld,” said De la Rey.

She feels establishing a community upliftment project (CUP) in Ward 44 would be a proactive way to address service delivery issues such as potholes, while fostering collaboration between residents, local businesses, and key stakeholders.

“This initiative encourages community involvement and ownership of local challenges, allowing residents to pool resources, share skills, and take direct action to improve their surroundings. A practical example of this approach is the successful repair of potholes at the corner of Olympus Drive and Skukuza Street, where community-led efforts demonstrated what can be achieved through unity and initiative,” she said.

“[A] CUP would serve as a platform for regular engagement, mobilisation, and accountability, empowering the community to not only raise concerns but also become part of the solution,” she explained.

To her, addressing issues of law enforcement and by-law management in Ward 44 is critical to restoring order, safety, and accountability in the community.

“Persistent problems such as illegal dumping, unregulated street trading, noise disturbances, and neglected public spaces often go unchecked due to poor enforcement and a lack of visibility from authorities. To tackle this, there needs to be stronger co-ordination between residents, SAPS, metro police, and municipal by-law officers, supported by regular patrols and community reporting mechanisms,” said De la Rey.

Ward 98 winner, Mickey van der Westhuizen, told Rekord: “I want to make sure the safety in the ward remains a priority to work towards by seeing how we can strengthen the police and anti-crime forums, as well as see how we can fix the streetlights. Where there are no streetlights, the criminals will rule, and we need to stop that.”

He is also concerned about the older areas like Dorandia, which still have asbestos pipes that need replacing.

“This needs some action from my side, like putting such renewal projects into the integrated development plan for next year.”

With the electricity crisis, he is concerned that no succession planning is being done with reference to employees going on pension, and then there is no one who is knowledgeable about systems to replace them.

The result of the two municipal by-elections in Tshwane boosts the confidence of the DA ahead of next year’s local government election.

“We will ensure that our newly elected councillors, Samantha de la Rey (Ward 44) and Mickey van der Westhuizen (Ward 98), serve their communities with dedication and excellence,” said Cilliers Brink, leader of the DA in the city council.

According to him, it is notable that ActionSA, a party that currently holds the mayoral position in the city, did not contest these by-elections.

He pointed out that it has not contested a single by-election in Tshwane since November 2023.

“It is clear that many former ActionSA voters in Ward 98 (Pretoria North) have switched their support to the DA. This ward is one of the most diverse in the metro. In the 2021 local government election, ActionSA won 17% of the vote in the ward,” explained Brink.

The results were:

– In Ward 98, Tshwane DA’s vote share grew from 37.5% in the 2024 National and Provincial Election, to 72.77% in 2025
– In Ward 44, it grew from 74.3% to 88.07%

“These results are incredibly encouraging in the lead-up to the 2026 Local Government Election. We do not take a single vote for granted, and will continue our work as an effective opposition to the ANC coalition in Tshwane,” said Brink.

Rina Marx, who was the representative of the Freedom Front Plus in Ward 98, is concerned that the voting percentage of under 20% was very low in the ward, considering there are more than 18 000 registered voters.

“I think voters are staying away from the polls because they see that even if councillors are working hard, nothing much can be done to make a real difference to a specific ward if there is no co-operation from the metro and the employees themselves. People are tired of municipal service delivery woes and looking to approach and address their concerns outside the system.”

Marx will continue as a proportional councillor in the ward and said she is committed as ever to continue with projects such as her upliftment project in Walmer.

Michael Beaumont, national chairperson of Action SA, said his party did not take part in these two wards’ by-elections as their party is not as well-funded as some of the other parties and will only take part in by-elections that are part of their strategic plan.

“We are, however, focusing on the main local elections of next year. Just as the other parties are selectively taking part in certain wards and, for example, not taking part in township elections, we choose to focus on our overhead strategy and take these results of July 9 with a pinch of salt. While Mr Brink seems to be very much concerned about our party, we are not concerned about the actions of a former failed mayor of Tshwane and his party.”

Full results:

Ward 98 Tshwane Final Result
DA: 72.77% – 2151 votes (2024: 39.20% – 4 710 votes | 2021: 42.05% – 3 310 votes)
ANC: 10.28% – 304 votes (2024: 19,83% – 2 382 votes | 2021: 16.34% – 1 286 votes)
FF+: 8.56% – 253 votes (2024: 7.04% – 846 votes | 2021: 14.82% – 1 167 votes)
EFF: 4.74% – 140 votes (2024: 17.94% – 2 156 votes | 2021: 9.21% – 725 votes)
OHM: 0.07% – 2 votes (2024: Did not contest | 2021: 0.03% – 2 votes)
INDP: 3.59% – 106 votes (2024: Did not contest | 2021: Did not contest)
Poll % – 16.44%

Ward 44 Tshwane Final Result
DA: 88.07% – 3594 votes (2024: 75.95% – 8 520 votes | 2021: 70.32% – 6282 votes)
ANC: 0.98% – 40 votes (2024: 4.64% – 520 votes | 2021: 2.93% – 262 votes)
FF+: 10.76% – 439 votes (2024: 9.42% – 1 057 votes | 2021: 17.43% – 1 557 votes)
OHM: 0.20% – 8 votes (2024: Did not contest | 2021: 0.02% – 2 votes)
Poll % – 27.12%

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