DA ducks another chance to fix Joburg
20 November 2023
Today the DA has again let down the residents of Johannesburg, and its former coalition partners, by refusing an opportunity to take back the City and not attending the council meeting to elect a new speaker.
Efforts to engage the DA began last week following the revelation of COPE’s removal of Speaker Colleen Makhubele.
During these discussions the PA, for the 4th time this year, availed themselves to restore the majority behind a coalition with the DA, ActionSA, IFP, FF Plus, ACDP and the UIM.
The nature of these discussions afforded the DA the opportunity to determine whether they would like to lead this arrangement or whether they would prefer to support a candidate from one of these parties to win Joburg away from the ANC and EFF.
Despite this approach taken, coalition partners were informed late last night by the DA that they would not support any arrangement to take back Joburg. The DA has every right, and was given every opportunity, to decide how they wish to participate in a new coalition, but they have opted rather for the continued governance of the ANC and EFF.
It is devastating to the residents of Joburg that they will continue to suffer under the failed governance of Mayors and Speakers from parties with no discernible constituency, whose price for the privilege of leading Africa’s greatest City is for their strings to be pulled by the ANC and the EFF.
Under this arrangement Joburg’s infrastructure has declined rapidly, the metro centre where all officials use to work is now closed and services have all but come to a halt.
It must be known by every resident of Joburg, and those that look to the DA in Gauteng in 2024, that their suffering under the ANC and EFF is both avoidable and entirely the result of the DA.
Every cent that is stolen, every pothole that develops, every customer care failure and every stalled project is brought to the residents of Joburg by the DA.
The DA will undoubtedly attempt to justify their absence on their impending motion to dissolve the council. This motion has no pathway to achieve the requisite two-third majority threshold even with the support of the ANC which has been canvassed.
To demonstrate the extent to which this motion is a gimmick it must be known that the DA has not solicited the support of any of its former coalition partners. It is designed to create the appearance of doing something while they avoid any real step that can begin the work to Fix Joburg.
ActionSA appreciates its partners in the IFP, FF Plus, ACDP and UIM who once again stuck together and agreed they would not participate in this election of a Speaker as they felt that it was academic without the required numbers.
These parties continue to demonstrate the ability to put aside differences to work together in the best interests of the residents of Joburg, and Gauteng more broadly. Votes for these parties in the 2021 local government elections were honoured by a commitment to do what is necessary to Fix Joburg.
ActionSA sympathises with the residents of Joburg who sought change in the 2021 local government elections. ActionSA will continue to present a credible alternative to the ANC in the impending elections in which people are looking for parties to provide the leadership to fix their communities irrespective of the complexity of the coalition arrangement.
Issued by Funzi Ngobeni, ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 20 November 2023
