The race for who will be the next mayor of the City of Tshwane isn’t between Nasiphi Moya and former mayor Cilliers Brink – but rather between the ANC and the DA in the upcoming local government elections on 4 November.
Tshwane DA mayoral candidate Brink, who launched the Tshwane DA’s manifesto on Friday in Mamelodi, said: “In 2021, I wasn’t even a candidate for mayor. I stepped into the role after there was a resignation and to stabilise the coalition.
“Even when I was removed, it wasn’t by the voters, but by politicians who didn’t have a mandate to form a coalition with the ANC and EFF, as they did.”
Brink reflects on previous term as mayor
Brink said the 18 months he served as mayor were good training.
“I have served in government before under Solly Msimanga, but that was in a very different role and very long ago. Being in the leadership position is something else,” he added.
Brink said one of his coalition’s most important projects when he was mayor, the Hammanskraal water project, has stalled under the current coalition.
“Block JJ substation in Soshanguve and the substation in Pretoria East, where places such as Silverton and Watloo have constant power outages. Those are important to finish, which is why this is a great opportunity for me to present myself for the first time as a candidate to be elected by the people.”
‘I love Pretoria’
Brink said Pretoria was home.
“I love Pretoria, I came here to study, but made it my life. I love the jacarandas and the culture of Tshwane. Pretoria is more like a town. Joburg can be very impersonal.”
Brink said he wouldn’t be mayor of any other city in the world.
“First, I want to fire the corrupt politicians and tenderpreneurs and replace them with honest, hard-working professionals. Then restore the rule of law with crime-fighting technology, including a CCTV camera network, drones and a control room.”
Economic revival and coalition dynamics
Other focus areas include upgrading service infrastructure, water and electricity and public lighting with the help of private partnerships.
“We also want to use assets such as the Wonderboom airport, the fresh produce market and Bon Accord quarry to draw investments and jobs. Currently, those assets are dormant and targets for vandalism.”
Brink would restore partnerships with community-based projects.
“If the DA is given the opportunity, 50% plus one and five years in government, we can make those changes and turn the city around.”
He said Moya isn’t an opponent.
“Action SA is a small party. I think the ANC is also done using a puppet mayor and suspect they will field their own candidate this time. The question isn’t if it is going to be Brink or Moya, but rather an ANC-led coalition, a DA-led coalition or, alternatively, a DA majority.”
Brink said the DA has a branch in every one of the 107 wards in Tshwane.
