By Lebone Rodah Mosima
Democratic Alliance Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink has accused Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya of entrenching the city’s reliance on water tankers instead of fixing failing infrastructure.
Brink made the statements on Wednesday, a day before Moya is to deliver her state of the capital address on Thursday.
His criticism follows the collapse of a community meeting in Hammanskraal earlier this week, after Moya failed to arrive.
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Convened to update residents on water supply problems, the meeting was instead led by Community Safety MMC Hannes Coetzee and was adjourned after disruptions.
Moya later apologised and said she had been delayed at another engagement, and that when she was “on my way” she was told meeting was adjourned “for safety reasons”.
“The community erupted in anger and understandably so. This was the kind of anger that comes from being lied to and ignored by the people in authority,” Brink said.
He said Moya’s planned address would offer only a superficial “jet-packer treatment” to residents, while avoiding difficult questions over corruption and service delivery failures.
“One thing that cannot be hidden is that under Mayor Moya’s administration, Tshwane has gone backward,” he said.
Brink accused the ANC, which he said had “returned to power” with the backing of coalition partners including ActionSA and the EFF, of driving up expenditure on water tankers to formalised areas from R140 million to R777 million.
While frequently reported, that amount has been challenged by Deputy Executive Mayor and Finance MMC Eugene Modise, who has said it does not reflect actual verified spending.
Brink also slammed the city’s high water losses. Non-revenue water sits at about 39.1%, according to the city itself, with an annual loss of about R1.7 billion.
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“Worse still, as these leaks worsen, the demand for water tankers increases,” Brink said.
“Unless the cycle is broken, the water tanker mafia will not stop in the communities currently being serviced by water tankers.”
Brink also lashed out at senior leaders in the governing coalition, including Modise, who has been accused of having links to companies that have been awarded water tanker contracts.
“We must end the coalition chaos and the ongoing changing of mayors that undermine every effort to get our city working,” Brink said.
“Only then can we deliver on a programme that stops corruption, improves delivery, creates jobs and opportunities for ordinary people, and truly transforms the way of life of people who live here.”
Brink said the local government election would be about more than control of the metro, adding that residents needed to reclaim the city from “criminal syndicates” and patronage networks.
“If residents want to end the tanker economy, fix our city’s infrastructure and stop Tshwane’s decline, they must vote for a party that is prepared to fight for this city,” Brink said.