THABI MADIBA
THE GOOD party has announced that it will vote with the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday in support of its mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink, without any agreements, compromises or promises of positions.
GOOD Councillor in Tshwane Sarah Mabotsa said this would be done on principle in the best interests of the people.
The DA announced Brink’s candidacy for mayor last week after Randall Williams resigned.
Mabotsa claimed that under Williams’ mayorship, the City of Tshwane had been in “free-fall for years”, which she added had resulted in millions of irregular expenditure and the collapse of services and infrastructure across the metro.
She said GOOD would support Brink to avoid “political manipulation and instability” that could lead to the appointment of a “lame-duck, or placeholder” mayor.
“GOOD will, therefore, vote for Brink today, though the DA knows well that GOOD won’t hesitate to challenge it should its new mayor falter,” she stated.
Tuesday’s vote will see Brink go up against the Congress of the People’s (Cope’s) mayoral candidate, Dr Murunwa Makwarela.
Mabotsa said the African National Congress (ANC), with 34.6% of the vote in the city, was unlikely to put forward its own candidate in favour of supporting the Cope candidate.
She highlighted that should the Cope candidate win it would effectively create another “puppet Metro mayor” with the ANC pulling the strings.
Mabotsa believes that while none of the options for mayor of Tshwane are ideal, as elected representatives of the people, councillors have a duty to work together to raise what she calls “a rapidly sinking ship”.
She urged Tshwane councillors to work in the best interests of the people, and warned against “unstable coalition circuses of personal and political agendas”.
“Starting today, the councillors must focus on putting the City back on a stable path, and leave the pursuit of their own narrow personal and political interests behind them,” said Mabotsa.
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