Pretoria - The DA in Gauteng said the removal of their candidate Tania Campbell as Ekurhuleni mayor was an attempt by the coalition parties to bring an end to the hard work and dedication that the multi-party government had brought to the city.
The party made the statement after Campbell was re-elected as mayor on Tuesday.
Campbell won by 124 votes to the ANC candidates 99, with 1 spoilt ballot. Her victory comes two weeks after she was ousted through a motion of no confidence.
This means that the EFF, with 31 council seats in Ekurhuleni, backed the DA and snubbed the ANC’s candidate, Jongizizwe Dlabathi.
Before Campbell was re-elected, drama unfolded in the council chambers when the EFF withdrew its candidate for the mayorship position just before voting time.
EFF councillor Nkululeko Dunga, who is also the EFF’s provincial chairperson in Gauteng, had been in the running to become the new mayor of Ekurhuleni.
However, Dunga withdrew his nomination after the ANC nominated Dlabathi for the position. Dlabathi is the ANC’s Ekurhuleni regional deputy chairperson.
It is understood that the EFF, which had been in talks with the ANC, had negotiated for the red berets to run the City of Ekurhuleni, in exchange for the EFF backing the ANC’s bid to reclaim the City of Johannesburg from a DA-led coalition.
Talks between the ANC and the EFF are understood to have collapsed, leading to the re-election of Campbell, backed by EFF votes.
Campbell’s 124 votes for the mayoral chain came from the DA - 65, EFF - 31, Action SA - 15, FF+ - 8, IFP - 3 and ACDP - 2.
The EFF is the only party that is not a member of the multiparty coalition that backed Campbell.
Without the EFF votes, Campbell would not have been able to reclaim the mayoral chain.
The DA’s Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said of Campbell being reinstated.
“Today we watched the ANC and their cronies try to get their hands back on the finances of Ekurhuleni. And once again we saw them fail dismally as their corrupt cabal struggled to even agree among themselves,” said Msimanga.
Msimanga said this was an attempt at political point scoring which failed and it came at a cost.
“A financial cost and a cost in terms of service delivery. Putting an entire metro on pause while back-room deals are done leaves residents neglected and uncertain as to what will happen next.”
Meanwhile, Dr Corné Mulder, a spokesperson for the parties in the multiparty coalition comprising of the DA, IFP, ActionSA, FF+ and the ACDP said they will come together to see how this second opportunity can translate into better service delivery for all residents of Ekurhuleni.
“There is little time to celebrate this victory because the work of the government must now take priority,“ the coalition said.
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