Deputy President Paul Mashatile has praised Tshwane’s ActionSA mayor Nasiphi Moya for her work in the city, telling the DA to learn a thing or two from her.
Mashatile was responding to a question from ActionSA MP Lerato Ngobeni in parliament on Thursday about Tshwane’s financial struggles under the previous DA-led administration.
“I think honourable Nasiphi Moya should be supported as she’s fixing that city that was messed up by the DA. She really has my support,” Mashatile said.
Tshwane’s previous leadership under the DA’s Cilliers Brink was marked by controversy. He was removed through a motion of no confidence in 2024 due to an alleged failure to address critical issues, such as service delivery and financial troubles.
Mashatile criticised the DA for not accepting failures caused by its members.
“The problem is that some of us, particularly the DA, don’t want to accept when our members are messing up. Please just accept that in Tshwane you’ve failed. Because once you accept that, you will be able to put in better people. But the problem is that the DA continues to protect somebody who is failing them.”
When she took office last year, Moya introduced a 100-day plan, which she said would enable a “decisive turnaround” for the country’s capital. She said she was not a mayor for ActionSA or any political party, but a mayor for all residents of Tshwane. She vowed to deliver services to all residents in the city, not only to affluent areas.
“I support Moya. Fix the city of Tshwane so that the DA can learn something from others as well,” Mashatile added.
President Cyril Ramaphosa previously told councillors that they should take lessons from DA municipalities, a statement that ruffled feathers within the ANC. Mashatile defended Ramaphosa, saying he was quoted out of context.
“He then went on that he has come across this information that there are a lot of municipalities in the Western Cape that have clean audits. He says go and see what they are doing as well,” said Mashatile.
“But what he did not say was that the Western Cape is really the panacea for good governance and service delivery and everything. He was focusing on clean audits.”
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