Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga confirms he is stepping down

City of Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga has announced that he is stepping down from his position to focus on his Gauteng premiership campaign.

Msimanga was addressing media on Friday at Nkululeko House in Bruma, Johannesburg.

He said his resignation would be effective from the beginning of February.

Msimanga said his decision was triggered by the realisation that for the DA to make meaningful change in Tshwane, it needed to govern Gauteng.

He blamed the ANC for having left Tshwane in a shambles and for mismanaging the province.

"I cannot serve the people of Tshwane while caught up in the premiership campaign," said Msimanga.

"The people of Gauteng deserve better after two decades of ANC plundering."

Msimanga said he was confident that the DA would put forward a solid mayoral candidate as his replacement and was "hopeful that the EFF will support our mayoral candidate".