Why is ActionSA attacking its own government in Tshwane?

05 April 2022

This week ActionSA released a statement attacking attempts by the Tshwane mayor Randall Williams to resolve the long-standing problems at the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant.

What makes the statement astounding is that ActionSA forms part of the coalition that governs the city. ActionSA councillors have access to all the levers of power and influence in the city.

Last week ActionSA proposed a motion that the appointment of contractors responsible for the upgrading of Rooiwal be investigated after mayor Williams had already given instruction that this be done.

Mayor Williams and the MMC for infrastructure, Peter Sutton, are concerned not just about the Rooiwal refurbishment project, but also the plant’s day-to-day maintenance and operations.

If Hannes Coetzee, the ActionSA candidate for the Ward 96 by-election, is unaware of what the city is already undertaking, he must speak to his ActionSA representatives in government.

ActionSA has three (3) members on Tshwane’s mayoral committee, the decision-making body of the city that meets every two weeks to make decisions about how the city is governed.

Members of the mayoral committee (MMCs) are essentially a metro ‘cabinet’. One of ActionSA’s MMCs in Tshwane was previously responsible for utility services. This portfolio includes water and sanitation.

ActionSA antics in Ward 96 seem to be a repeat of what the party did with Tshwane’s adjustment budget. After they took part in preparing the budget, they then threatened to vote against it.

It is time that ActionSA decides whether it wants to use the power of government to get things done, or whether it wants to join the ANC and the EFF in opposition. The party cannot have it both ways.

Statement issued by Cllr Jacqui Uys, DA Caucus Chairperson in Tshwane, 5 April 2022