Tshwane ANC in meeting U-turn

CHANGE OF HEART: EFF CHAIR STILL NON-COMMITTAL

Opposition in council staged walkout last month but will attend tomorrow, it says.

The Tshwane ANC has now changed its tune, telling The Citizen yesterday it would be attending the upcoming council meeting tomorrow, as it was mandated to serve the city.

This after the now opposition party walked out and collapsed last month’s sitting shortly before the council was to vote for the sale of the mayoral mansion.

ANC caucus spokesperson Lesego Makhubela said the planned sale of the mayoral mansion was just a “publicity stunt” by Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga, similar to his statement that city officials would no longer be driving BMWs, the same car model which the mayor currently uses.

The mayoral mansion, dubbed the “house of corruption”, is valued at R5 million but was renovated at a staggering cost of R12 million under the former mayor, Kgosientso “Sputla” Ramokgopa.

Makhubela brushed off the motion to vote for the sale of the house, saying Msimanga failed to “understand the purpose” of keeping the mansion.

“This is just a political and publicity stunt. It is for ambassadors and high commissioners and not for him to have parties and all sorts of things. It is to host such dignitaries. Unlike any other city, Tshwane is the capital city.”

Asked whether they would be present at this week’s council meeting, Tshwane Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) chairperson Benjamin Disoloane said: “I can’t comment. Whether we are coming or not, you’ll see on Thursday.”

Last month, the ANC staged a mass walkout after it was discovered that the Democratic Alliance’s coalition ally the EFF made a no-show. The hostility between the DA and EFF started when United Democratic Movement councillor and then Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor Mongameli Bobani was sacked in a motion of no confidence last month.

A source close to the ANC caucus said the ANC was “opportunistic” and only decided to stage a walkout after they noticed the absence of the EFF. This person said the ANC would “milk the situation between the EFF and the DA to their own advantage”. –