Tshwane — Former Tshwane Mayor, Randall Williams, has spoken out on his tenure as mayor, as well as the perception Tshwane residents had of Cilliers Brink, who was recently ousted.
According to Williams, Brink has been painted as the ‘messiah’ of the troubled capital city, while he was also portrayed as the person responsible for the current financial turmoil the city faces, EWN reported,
Williams said that the residents of Tshwane believed the city would crumble if Brink was not re-instated as mayor.
“I don’t believe Cilliers Brink has a divine right to govern the City of Tshwane. The City of Tshwane has severe problems. Whether he is the right person to run the country [city], I can’t say but one thing I do know, is .he is definitely not the Messiah. The information given to the residents of Tshwane is misleading,” Williams said.
The Tshwane Municipality is currently without a mayor, with political parties negotiating to form a new government by next week.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Williams explained what happened when the decision was made to axe him as mayor.
He said he was called to a meeting with John Steenhuisen and Solly Msimanga, where he was told it was a decision by the federal executive of the DA that he should be fired.
“He asked me a bizarre question, he asked me ‘So how do you feel about being fired.’. What do you say if someone fires you, that you feel good?” Williams said.
He said he never received any formal notification that he was fired, and he continued working and implementing his recovery plan.
“A few weeks after I was fired, I was called with all my MMCs to an online meeting to present the recovery plan to the Multi-Party Coalition leaders,” he said.
He said Steenhuisen requested a private meeting with the MPC leaders, but they declined to do so until after Williams presented his plan.
“I presented the recovery plan, and what I suspected why John wanted to meet with them alone, was to inform them that he fired me already,” Willliams concluded.
[WATCH] Former Tshwane mayor Randall Williams says when he got fired, he was called by DA leader John Steenhuisen to a meeting where he was told that the decision to axe him came from the party’s federal leadership. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/a2M5Z6uQTc
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) October 2, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
