Randall Williams can be ousted by ANC and EFF only with help of coalition partner
ANC and EFF said they would table a vote of no confidence against Tshwane mayor later this month and if the parties can muster 108 votes, Williams would lose the mayoral chain.
A multi-billion rand investment offer by an Australian company to revamp two Tshwane substations has put mayor Randall Williams’ job at risk as he’s accused of involving himself in supply management processes.
The private company, Kratos Energy, submitted an unsolicited bid – a closed offer by a sole provider – to refurbish, finance, operate and maintain Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations for 30 years.
The project would cost R26-billion over five years with the project expected to attract an investment of R48-billion in the long term.
The company said this would allow it to provide electricity to the region while the municipality says it would insist the company would have to charge the same as or less than the Eskom rate.
ANC and EFF said they would table a vote of no confidence against Williams later this month and if the parties can muster 108 votes, Williams would lose the mayoral chain.
Political analyst and Unisa professor Dirk Kotze said the opposition parties could oust Williams only with the help of a coalition partner.
Kotze said ActionSA’s criticism of Williams threatens the mayor’s job.
“The moment one of the coalition partners is not behind the mayor anymore, then there is a chance for this [vote of no confidence succeeding] to succeed. ActionSA is very critical of the mayor so there might be a possibility of them being part of that motion of no confidence against the mayor,” he said.
He said this would also happen if the ANC and EFF work together, “in the past, the two parties have not voted together”.
ALSO READ: Coalition govt partners fight as Tshwane mayor lands in hot water over multi-billion energy deal
Kotze said if Williams is removed, another DA councillor would take over, adding that ActionSA was in a tough spot.
“It will be bad for the credibility of ActionSA not to vote against Williams after publicly criticising him. It would also be hard for the party to vote with the ANC because they said they will never work with the ANC.”
If there is more evidence against the mayor then it will be almost inevitable that Williams will be ousted, Kotze said.
The EFF released a recording of a metro meeting in August 2021 in which Williams can be heard telling officials that it was not their duty to approve the offer but to “implement his decision” to approve the offer.
“It is the role of the executive authority to take strategic decisions and the role of the administration to implement those decisions whether they agree or disagree,” Williams is heard saying.
The officials had proposed an open tender process – competitive bidding – asserting that the services Kratos provided were not unique as required by the National Treasury for an unsolicited bid.
Kotze said politicians are responsible for policy in the metro, “they are not there to implement and therefore are not responsible for contracts”.
“When it comes to contracts, the idea is that it should be non-political otherwise the chances of corruption are just too much,” Kotze said.
Williams denied any wrongdoing, saying ActionSA and EFF wanted to “discredit and smear” him and the recording was taken out of context.
He said the Kratos offer was a good investment for the metro.
“The proposal seeks to re-purpose the city’s coal power plants, which have not been used since 2014, and convert them to gas.
“The intention is to generate over 800 megawatts of power over the long term and the estimated amount of direct investment is R26-billion.’
He said the project would provide 36 000 jobs and avert load-shedding.
ALSO READ: Gauteng govt wants answers about mayor’s ‘heavy hand’ in multi-billion deal
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