By Thapelo Molefe
ActionSA’s Nasiphi Moya has been elected as the new mayor of Tshwane in a special council meeting in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Moya secured a decisive victory with 122 votes, outpacing her rival, DA’s Cilliers Brink who garnered 86 votes.
She received support from the ANC, EFF and other political parties. The Freedom Front Plus backed Cilliers.
This comes after Brink, who held the position for 18 months, was removed through an ANC-sponsored no-confidence vote two weeks ago.
Moya and Brink were nominated for the position.
She has now handed in her resignation letter as the deputy mayor.
The SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has welcomed Moya’s election.
Samwu’s Precious Theledi said Moya’s leadership was expected to bring about long-overdue transformation, addressing the inequalities and divisions perpetuated by the previous DA-led coalition.
“We urge the new leadership of Tshwane to take decisive action to address the city’s challenges,” Theledi emphasised.
According to Samwu, the previous administration’s policies prioritised affluent areas, neglecting marginalised communities and denying workers salary increases, which forced many into financial hardship.
The union demanded immediate action, including the withdrawal of the city’s review application concerning the 5.4% salary increase from 2023 and the reinstatement of unjustly dismissed workers.
With Moya at the helm, Theledi said the union hoped to rebuild healthy employer-employee relations and restore Tshwane to its former glory.
Ahead of the election, the ANC announced that it would back Moya.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu Motsiri described Moya as the best candidate to lead Tshwane.
“This is based on the strength of her experience and her qualifications. We appeal to the people of Tshwane to support Dr Nasiphi Moya and the new leadership team that is putting the capital city on a new path of better governance, service delivery and inclusive growth,” said Motsiri.
She said as the largest party in the council, the ANC remained the leader of the multiparty coalition government that would be established in Tshwane over the next few days.
In response to DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille reportedly threatening that if Brink was not reinstated, the party would withdraw from ongoing negotiations to stabilise metros, Motsiri asserted the ANC’s independence, stating: “We do not answer to her, and we will not be intimidated.”
As the city’s political landscape continues to evolve, the ANC said it remained open to future discussions with other parties, cautioning against intimidation.
ANC Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi emphasised the importance of continuity in Tshwane, pointing to Moya, who was the current deputy mayor and acting mayor, as the embodiment of this stability.
“You can’t bring a complete new person when you have almost 18 months to go to elections,” Lesufi said.
Before the vote, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba described the ANC as “the lead party” in their relationship in Tshwane. He said the parties would cooperate to bring in Moya as mayor.
Earlier on, EFF Gauteng chairperson Nkululeko Dunga revealed ongoing discussions to form a coalition government in Gauteng, where the ANC would lead Johannesburg, ActionSA would be at helm Tshwane, and the EFF would over Ekurhuleni to bring stability to local government in the province.
This could not be verified at the time of publishing.
Meanwhile, the FF Plus has expressed its willingness to facilitate talks between the DA and ANC if approached.
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