Come and see what I’ve done‚ Trollip tells Malema

With his mayorship at stake‚ Athol Trollip has invited Julius Malema to visit Nelson Mandela Bay‚ in a last-ditch effort to sway the EFF leader against the planned motion to unseat him.

“Show our people that you really understand and care for their issues and hear from them yourself whether they want the ANC back in government in their city.”

This was the emphatic plea from mayor Trollip in a three-page letter to Malema on Tuesday.

In it‚ he detailed how he had admired the EFF leader for his resolute stance to maintain his party’s independence while holding the ANC to account for “its corrupt ways”.

He said there had been a growing level of trust between the DA-led coalition and six EFF councillors in the Bay over the last 19 months.

EFF national spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi did not respond to a request for comment on Trollip’s letter and EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee could not be reached.

In the letter‚ Trollip expressed his confusion that Malema was punishing him‚ the DA-led coalition and residents of the Bay for holding a different ideological position on land and “the offensive colour of my skin”.

“These two things have been unchanged and self-evident since the first day of our discussions post the 2016 elections‚" wrote Trollip.

“In fact‚ you stated that you chose to cooperate with the ‘better of two devils’.”

• This article was first published in HeraldLIVE.