EFF slams DA-led Tshwane for ‘outsourcing’ service delivery to AfriForum

The EFF in Tshwane has rejected the partnership between the municipality and AfriForum, accusing the DA-led government of outsourcing its service delivery responsibilities to a “racist” organisation.

They have called it a “racist collaboration that favours a minority at the cost of widespread service delivery”.

The partnership will see AfriForum provide maintenance services within the city, which the red berets believe is a failure of the DA-led coalition to implement effective service delivery systems and safeguard the city's facilities and communities.

The party claimed the  administration missed an opportunity to adopt the EFF's proposal in council to enhance the capital city's capacity in a bid to enable it to fulfil its obligations without outsourcing responsibilities.

“The DA's action not only underscores their failure in governing Tshwane but also reveals their inherently racist character as an organisation. 

“AfriForum, known for its bold declaration of racist sentiments in the past and present, fundamentally supports colonialism and the remnants of the apartheid regime by advocating for the preservation of apartheid flags and public displays thereof.”

It is on this premise the red berets believe it is unacceptable for AfriForum to be given the responsibility of delivering essential services to Tshwane's residents, who are predominantly black, coloured, Indian and Chinese.

“ AfriForum's insistence on marginalising black individuals, using the resources allocated for serving all residents of Tshwane regardless of race, is deeply troubling.

“No public institution, specially those involved in governance, should ever collaborate with racist organisations under the guise of serving the community. AfriForum lacks the capacity to transcend racial biases and ensure equitable service delivery.”

By entering into service delivery agreements with AfriForum, the EFF accused the DA of explicitly displaying its “deep-seated hatred” for the black, coloured, Indian, and Chinese residents of Tshwane.

“They are also compromising their wellbeing to appease racist constituents who have shifted their support to the Freedom Front+ at the expense of our people's dignity.”

The party called for the immediate termination of the partnership, instructing the mayor to “abandon any attempts to reintroduce apartheid by stealth”.

However, mayoral spokesperson Sipho Stuurman poured cold water over the claims, saying the outrage is over nothing.

“This is not outsourcing services to AfriForum. This is part of our whole-of-society approach where we call on civil society, residents and any other groups who want to assist the city to improve service delivery.”

Stuurman said the community upliftment project was launched in December and they were open to working with any interested parties to improve service delivery in the city.

“The reality is that we cannot do it all as government, so we welcome all groups that want to help us build a better city for our residents. However, to do so it’s important that we formalise our working relationship.”

Stuurman maintained the DA-led government was not relinquishing its responsibilities to an external organisation but is instead calling for aid.

“We are continuing with our mandate but we welcome those with an interest to assist. We are not handing over any municipal or governance powers to AfriForum. They’ll have to approach the city when and if they’ve identified an area where they want to assist.”

He said the partnership was not the first of its kind and the administration had called for reinforcement from the private sector before.

“We’ve worked with Hollard Insure to power traffic lights to during load-shedding. We’ve worked with Hennops Revival and SoulBent to drive community cleaning initiatives. This is not unique to AfriForum.”

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