File photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images via Getty Images
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Tshwane have vowed to push back against what they call the overreach of city administrators, insisting that governance must remain in the hands of elected officials.
EFF Tshwane regional chair Obakeng Ramabodu this week dismissed the idea of municipal administrators playing a leading role in decision-making.
“This madness of thinking that administrators will run this government will never happen. This government of Tshwane is going to be run accordingly and directed by politicians, not administrators,” he said.
“For far too long these administrators have been running the show here without any mandate. Who voted for them? They are getting a lot of money and at the same time, they want to be politicians. From time to time, we will call them to order.”
Ramabodu made the remarks on the sidelines of the briefing held by ActionSA Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya on the first 100 days since taking over power in the city from the Democratic Alliance-led coalition. Tshwane is currently run by an ActionSA, ANC and EFF coalition.
Last month, the EFF accused city manager Johan Mettler of divulging confidential city matters to Cilliers Brink, the former DA mayor of Tshwane.
The EFF said this was a blatant betrayal of trust by Mettler. It was not just an administrative oversight, they said, but a calculated move that undermined the governance and stability of Tshwane.
“This misuse of power is unacceptable, and the residents of Tshwane deserve transparency and accountability from their leaders, not clandestine dealings that serve personal ambitions,” the EFF said, while demanding an investigation into the matter.
Speaking on the sidelines of the briefing on Monday, the city spokesman, Sebly Bokaba, said Mettler remained “focused, steadfast” and was “not distracted by these unfounded allegations levelled against him”.
“He gets on very well with members of the mayoral committee, all of them, and his task is to account on behalf of the administration. He is doing that wonderfully,” he said.
Bokaba said allegations that the city manager was leaking information were unfounded. “If anyone has proven that the city manager is leaking information, that person has to adduce that information.”
Ramabodu said the EFF’s aim was to hold Mettler accountable. “If you take raising issues about the city manager as a fight, that’s your problem, we have never told you that we are fighting the city manager but we are going to hold him accountable.”
“He is not our friend, our relationship here is to deliver services and to govern. We are not friends with anyone, we are colleagues.”
According to the Municipal Management Finance Act, politicians cannot “take over” the running of administrative posts.
A municipal administration is expected to implement the policies of the governing political party, or in the case of Tshwane, their coalition mandate.
The MFMA states that the municipal manager is responsible for fiscal responsibility within the municipality and cannot delegate his or her responsibilities to any political structure or political office bearer.
Furthermore, any action taken for political reasons against a municipal manager who is compliant with the act will be deemed unfair labour practice and they will be protected by the Labour Relations Act.
There is, however, a responsibility for the mayor, who leads the council, to provide general political guidance over the fiscal and financial affairs of the municipality.
Moya on 100 days in office
While delivering her 100 days speech, Moya said the current government was under no illusions about the challenges that lay ahead. She said her administration did not want to dwell on the past, but it was important to acknowledge “the difficult circumstances we inherited”.
Moya said the city was in a state of neglect, with dirty streets, failing infrastructure, and significant disparities in service delivery between affluent areas and townships or informal settlements. The contrast between affluent suburbs like Waterkloof and impoverished areas like Winterveld remained “deeply troubling”, she said.
The inequality is compounded by unemployment, she said, with 34.9% of the city’s over four million residents struggling without work.
Many residents felt neglected and disengaged from the work of government, she said, having lost faith in its ability or willingness to improve their daily lives.
She said as the coalition reflected on the past 100 days, it was clear that they still had much work ahead. But progress had been made, she said, which gave the administration confidence it was “on the right path”.
Restoring the city’s financial stability has been the top priority, she said.
“The good news is that our efforts are yielding results, and we believe we are now on track to present a fully funded budget for the new financial year—an important milestone for Tshwane. Central to our financial recovery has been improving revenue collection,” she said.”
“We set ourselves an ambitious target of collecting R4 billion per month. While we have not yet reached this figure, we have consistently achieved an average monthly revenue collection of R3.3 billion.”
Moya said ensuring safe, reliable infrastructure was the foundation of the city’s ability to deliver essential services to Tshwane’s residents, and over the past 100 days, the city had taken critical steps to improve water, electricity, and road infrastructure.
She said that law and order formed the foundation of the multi-party administration, and that over the past 100 days, the city had intensified by-law enforcement efforts under the Reclaim Our City campaign.
She said enforcement operations across the city had been stepped up, targeting illegal activities and improving compliance, particularly in the inner city and business districts.
“We recognise the challenges that remain, but we are committed to the path ahead. In the coming weeks, we will table our first adjustment budget, which will provide another opportunity to refine our priorities and direct resources towards the areas that need urgent intervention.”