SAMWU welcomes Tshwane Mayor’s resignation, calls for people -centered government

13 February 2023

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Tshwane Region notes the resignation tendered today by the City of Tshwane Mayor Cllr Randall Williams who has been the Executive head of the country’s Capital City since 2020. As SAMWU, we welcome the long overdue resignation by Cllr Williams which should have happened a long time ago as a result of the failures of the Executive under his watch. 

In his resignation letter, Cllr Williams attempts to paint a rosy picture of his tenure, he however neglects to mention the fact that under his watch, the City’s finances deteriorated to a state that has never been seen before. It was under his watch that for the first time in history, the City received an adverse audit finding. This is the same man who was protected by the coalition government when there was clear evidence that he tried to manipulate the City’s supply chain process by attempting to sneak through the backdoor and give his preferred company a tender worth R26 billion.  

Cllr Williams will be remembered as the Mayor who presided over the collapse of the City’s finances. He will be remembered as the man who was responsible for the City’s R10 billion irregular expenditure and R1 billion fruitless and wasteful expenditure as reported by the Auditor General. In the wake of the revelations by the Auditor General, Cllr Williams and his Executive tried desperately to relegate the blame to officials in the City whereas he and the City Manager are the Executive authority in the City. Whenever the City performed well in audits, Cllr Williams was always the first one to take praise, however when things go wrong, workers are blamed. 

As workers, we will remember Cllr Williams as the man whose administration denied municipal workers their 3.5% salary increase in 2021 as agreed by parties in the South African Local Government Bargaining Council. We will remember Cllr Williams as the Mayor who failed to protect workers who were constantly attacked when they were in the field. This is a Mayor who single-handedly rendered the Tshwane Bus Service dysfunctional as the City failed to ensure constant supply of diesel, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. 

As we have said previously, the issue of which political party governs the City is not our priority or interest. We are only interested in having a government that will care for its employees and not subject them to starvation as they were by Cllr Williams and his administration. This administration has for a long time been aloof to the painful realities facing residents. 

We therefore call on all political parties represented in Council to put aside their political differences and elect a Mayor who cares for service delivery and workers alike. The City has been through rough times since 2020, political parties need to focus their energies on revitalizing the City to its former glory. Workers and residents of the City are tired of politicking, they need a government that will work for them, a government that is people-centered. 

Issued by Nkhetheni Muthavhi, Regional Chairperson, SAMWU, 13 February 2023