Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Final countdown for Tshwane
Maimane surprises all with his declaration of a new DA mayor in tight race
DA LEADER Mmusi Maimane incurred the wrath of the ANC when he declared victory in Tshwane and referred to the party’s mayoral candidate Solly Msimanga as “mayor”.
This was despite Tshwane still processing final results only expected today.
It remains to be seen if the DA leader knew something even Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials did not know yesterday.
Maimane surprised all present when he declared the Tshwane election results while addressing the media at the Tshwane Events Centre yesterday afternoon.
“Votes are still being tallied, however, it is positive news, Thank you to everyone and congratulations to new mayor,” the MP said during the briefing.
Maimane, who was accompanied by Msimanga, boasted about the DA’s lead in the metro, where the party has been in a neck-and-neck race with the ANC. “We’re leading in Tshwane as a result of our hard work,” said Maimane.
He made an appearance at the results centre just as the DA clinched Nelson Mandela Bay.
The DA leader said victory in that metro came because residents wanted a change, and the same was happening in Tshwane.
But ANC provincial spokesman Nkenke Kekana said it was still early to declare the result of Wednesday’s polls.
“We are confident that we will continue to govern Tshwane and all other metros in Gauteng. We have a mandate to once again govern the two districts and local municipalities,” Kekana said.
Maimane described Msimanga as a fantastic South African who would help create wealth and jobs in the country’s capital.
Msimanga, meanwhile, was enjoying the attention he received from the media, which dubbed him “mayor-to-be of Tshwane”, when he appeared alongside his political leader.
He pointed out that all the hard work and planning for his party finally paid off, saying he hadn’t slept a wink since elec- tion day on Wednesday.
“Serving the people requires lots of sacrifice, and that is what I’ve been doing since the start of the election campaign,” he said.
He spoke of how the DA improved drastically in most of the major metros including Tshwane, adding that change was always inevitable in the capital city.
“The people can only take so much; they were obviously fed up with the Sputla regime,” he said, referring to outgoing mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa.
Msimanga said the party still enjoyed support from most of the suburbs in the east of the capital, as well as Centurion and sections of the central inner city.
He cited townships, including his home base Atteridgeville, parts of Mamelodi, Hammanskraal and Mabopane as areas where the party performed well.
“The notion that the DA gets its support from white people is water under the bridge now,” said Msimanga, and added they ran a very long and hard race in Tshwane.
“It is a humble privilege to serve the people of South Africa in the capital city,” he said.
He said if the capital worked, the whole of the country would work and vowed to put in place a governance model that would work for the people.
“I want to get rid of corrupt elements in the structure.
“I need my officials and councillors to sign a performance agreement to hold everybody to account‚” he said.
Service delivery would be a priority area of focus.
“I will ensure we bring service delivery to the centre of what we do.
“There have been problems where people were not getting water and electricity. I will try to put our finances in order‚” he said.
Msimanga said he also planned to attract businesses to Tshwane and create employment opportunities.