Despite coalition partners convening to form a line of defence around Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink, key partner Action SA has pulled a no-show, leaving him vulnerable to removal.
Herman Mashaba’s party is rumoured to be flirting with ditching the DA-led multiparty coalition for a newfound alliance with the ANC, similar to the configuration in Johannesburg.
This configuration saw the ANC's Dada Morero installed as mayor alongside the election of ActionSA speaker Nobuhle Mthembu in recent weeks.
Brink's tenure at the helm of the capital city has come under siege after a looming no-confidence motion to axe him from office on Friday — only a month after a previous attempt to oust him.
This is not about me; it is not even about the chain — I've never worn it, it is somewhere in the Pretoria Arts Museum. This is about preserving the progress that has been made.
— Cilliers Brink, Tshwane mayor
The DA has been facing an onslaught in its municipalities where it governs with a coalition with its partners, leaving arrangements to cosy up with the ANC. The fallout has been also seen in the Western Cape, where the Freedom Front Plus — its most loyal ally — partnered with the ANC in Oudtshoorn to oust a DA mayor.
Brink came out guns blazing on Wednesday, holding a media briefing with allies in council as a show of force. He defended his position, saying he wants to remain in office for the sake of the work he has done in the capital city.
“This is not about me; it is not even about the chain — I've never worn it, it is somewhere in the Pretoria Arts Museum. This is about preserving the progress that has been made, it is about all the people that we have brought into management positions, the key decisions that we have made about Rooiwal, Hammanskraal water.”
Political parties including the DA, FF Plus, IFP, ACDP and Defenders of the People professed their loyalty to the current DA-led multiparty coalition, while Action SA has kept mum on its future in the political marriage.
ActionSA has had a contentious relationship with the DA in the past. This was further fuelled by the decision of the blue party to join a government of national unity.
ActionSA had been suspicious of the DA's motives to form a multiparty charter with like-minded parties to topple the ANC, seeing this as a strategy to stifle its growth while negotiation for a seat in power with the ANC.
Brink is the last DA mayor in the Gauteng metros after the ANC managed to topple its arrangements in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg.
He said the breakdown and concerns on the future of his mayoral seat began when Mashaba started social media attacks on his previous ally, the DA.
“We needed to clear the air and determine what the issues are and solve them. The uncertainty is not good. We had a routine coalition meeting where we discussed having this coalition press conference as one of the efforts in holding this coalition together. We reached out to the [ActionSA] national chairperson [Michael Beaumont] ... taking every effort to try to save this coalition.”
Brink reported that the requested meeting kept being postponed and never took place.
ActionSA in Tshwane is said to have told Brink that until the meeting between him and Beaumont can happen, they would not pitch for the press conference.
Beaumont said his party was reviewing its standing in the Tshwane coalition and could not pitch for any briefing until it had clarified its independent party position.
Last month, there was exactly the same no-confidence motion, and ActionSA at that point made a statement that they view the move as an opportunistic stunt to disrupt the progress that has been made by the coalition government.
— Cilliers Brink, Tshwane mayor
“ActionSA has initiated a review of our position in the City of Tshwane multiparty coalition government arising from a growing concern relating to the regression of service delivery standards in the townships in particular.
“This review is intended to engage residents of the city and structures of the party on their perspectives of this government. Until this review is complete, ActionSA's presence at today's press conference would add further insult to injury to many communities in Tshwane that are not experiencing an acceptable level of service delivery.”
Beaumont said they have shut the door on talks with the ANC at the moment. He added that the party had indicated to the ANC it would only engage after its review process.
“If there is any chance to persuade ActionSA not to open up Tshwane and let the EFF into government, I will take that,” Brink said.
The Tshwane mayor said nothing had been registered through the coalition on his performance.
He said he had a good relationship with his deputy and ActionSA councillor, Nasiphi Moya.
“There is no obvious point of disagreement, so we are left to speculate. Last month, there was exactly the same no-confidence motion, and ActionSA at that point made a statement that they view the move as an opportunistic stunt to disrupt the progress that has been made by the coalition government.”
Meanwhile, the ANC's Tshwane caucus chairperson Joel Masilela said a regional executive committee meeting sat on Tuesday night with provincial leadership of the party to pave a way forward.
“The negotiations are ongoing and not concluded yet. The delegation of the ANC will, once having concluded the talks, then impress upon all media houses in a press briefing session.”
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