The City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink has rejected calls to resign from his position.
Cope’s Ofentse Moalusi released a statement on Monday, calling Brink’s term of office as mayor a “disgraceful failure”.
In the statement, Moalusi accused Brink of “plunging the city into a state of disaster”.
“I have observed him in the past few months moving our city from one disaster to another. His handling of our workers’ plight is indicative of a leader who is not in touch with the reality or the hardships that our workers are subjected to.
‘‘His arrogant approach to the struggles of predominantly black people is very painful to witness. The courts can never be a platform to use to resolve any workers’ disputes and social calamities faced by our people. We cannot punish the workers for the bad administration that this city have been subjected to since 2016.’’
Moalusi further asserted that the city was irregularly spending R200 million a month.
The call for Brink to resign comes against the backdrop of continuing strike action by municipal workers who are demanding a 5.4% pay increase.
The city has been plunged into disarray due to the strike with disruptions in the delivery of services.
Waste has been left uncollected for weeks while there has been water and electricity challenges.
‘‘The city has been unable to correctly bill its customers for a considerable period of time. Predominantly, our residents are subjected to a heap of uncollected waste on their doorsteps.
‘‘We have also learned with dismay that the city has missed the deadline to submit the annual financial statements to the office of the auditor-general. There can only be one reason for missing the deadline: this administration is busy doing what is called ‘brilliant accounting’, and they are cooking the books. The city’s financial management system has collapsed,’’ Moalusi said in the statement.
However, the DA in Tshwane has rejected Cope’s assertions, saying the party was a failure. Speaking to Pretoria News yesterday, the DA’s caucus spokesperson Kwena Moloto said: “The DA rejects any calls for the resignation of Executive Mayor Cilliers Brink, especially from Cope, who created political instability with their 30-day mayor, Murunwa Makwarela, who is currently out on bail for charges of fraud.”
Tshwane Chief of Staff Jordan Griffith said Cope was no longer a political party with any relevance in South Africa’s political landscape.
“This is an organisation who failed to check their own Tshwane representative, a man who misrepresented himself to the chamber and is now facing fraud charges,” Griffith said. Cope has a sole seat at the Tshwane council.
He was referring to Makwarela, who became mayor earlier this year but was forced to resign after allegations of fraud were levelled against him.
Pretoria News