Cape Town — The coalition between ActionSA and the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane is facing strain as Mayor Cilliers Brink made a last-ditch appeal to ActionSA not to abandon the partnership.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, Brink urged ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba to preserve the coalition’s progress ahead of a looming motion of no confidence against him,Newzroom Afrika reported.
“What I want to achieve is to say ‘let us preserve the progress we have made.’ There is still a lot of uncertainty, that is inherent in coalition politics. But there is a chance to maintain this coalition, to continue the work we have started with,” Brink said.
He reached out to ActionSA to address their grievances but said that the two parties should work to resolve their differences.
Brink noted that any party proposing a motion of no confidence would need to seek support from additional parties, potentially including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), to secure a majority.
He stressed the need for a strategic plan before making any changes to the government.
“There is significant room for us to stop, think rationally to say what is the best way forward, not for political parties, not for national leaders but for the people of Tshwane who depend on stability, who depend on our ability to get professionals to work for the city,” he said.
[WATCH] “There is a chance to maintain this coalition. Let’s try and keep this coalition.” Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink reaches out to ActionSA after threats to review its position in the DA-led Tshwane coalition. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/QOxIykKzF3
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) August 28, 2024
Mashaba said that his party no longer wished to collaborate with the DA in Tshwane, describing the relationship as ‘toxic and abusive’.
He also revealed that he had allied with the African National Congress (ANC) in an effort to remove the DA from power.
According to The Citizen, Mashaba rejected Brink’s plea to stabilise the city’s coalition, saying that his party would not engage with the DA. He expressed a lack of trust in the DA and said he was unwilling to wait for them to kill him first.
“ActionSA has reached the stage where our ground structure has had more than enough of them. Right now, we are officially doing a review of removing Brink and we are not apologising to anyone about it,” he said.
Brink has written to the council speaker to try and stop the motion of no confidence against him, set to take place on Friday when the Tshwane council meets, EWN reported.
Brink’s lawyers claimed that the mayor was not given adequate time to review the motion, while the speaker’s office assured that the matter was receiving the necessary attention.
DA Tshwane spokesperson Kwena Moloto added that there was no urgent need for the motion to be addressed in Friday’s meeting, the report said.
“A motion of no confidence shouldn’t be something that takes place for fun, a mayor should have an opportunity to respond to the allegations of political parties in council. Therefore, for a motion of no council to serve urgently denies an executive mayor to bring forth arguments to the concerns political parties may be raising,” Moloto said.
[WATCH] The Tshwane multi-party coalition government responds to the ANC’s attempts to remove Mayor Cilliers Brink. The ANC wants Brink ousted through a motion of no confidence that will likely be debated on Friday. FF Plus’ Grandi Theunisse briefs the media saying, “We are not… pic.twitter.com/NV4TpKyHY8
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) August 28, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
