ANC points finger at DA over ‘collapsed’ Tshwane service delivery

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the DA has failed to improve the City of Tshwane in the seven years that it has been at the helm.

Tshwane is in the throes of a battle for the mayoral chain following Murunwa Makwarela’s resignation.

Makwarela was nominated by the ANC-EFF coalition, but resigned after it came to light that he submitted a  fake rehabilitation certificate amid an insolvency scandal.

“The DA in Tshwane over the past seven years has focused on producing scandals and paid scant regard to service delivery outcomes,” Mbalula said.

“This is the reason the ANC, its alliance partners, and civil society will lead the #BuyaTshwane people's march. As the ANC, we believe that it is no small feat when the capital city of our country struggles to achieve stability.”

Mbalula, who launched the “BuyaTshwane” campaign in Mamelodi on Wednesday ahead of the 17 March protest, claimed the DA has reversed all the gains made under the ANC government.

“Under the DA multi-party coalition, R85 million was paid to workers who never worked in the Environment Project, the revenue division has all but collapsed and the city fleet was recalled, and there is no tender in place. Furthermore, the yellow plant tender is in court and facing a protracted litigation process, and all road projects have been cancelled, with all of them ironically in black communities.

“In addition, waste collection trucks have been reduced in regions and this has affected refuse collection. The DA further cancelled Employee Work Initiative Programs, wi-fi services all over the city, townships, and hotspot areas, and also destroyed township development, and most residents of Tshwane are currently struggling with access to road services and transport networks because the Bus Rapid Transport system is no longer functioning in most parts of the capital city,” he added.

A young woman from Mamelodi, who asked not to be named, said she has resorted to selling baked goods and food at the local taxi rank because there have been no employment opportunities for her and her peers.

“I believe that they should improve more on the employment of youth and allow us to gain more experience. We get an education, as they say, we go to varsity but at the end of the day, we just sit with the qualification and have nothing to do. I am a graduate, but I started my own business just to survive.”

She said even those efforts are often thwarted by poor service delivery, where sporadic waste collection, load shedding, and prolonged power and water cuts directly impact her business.

“We can stay a day without lights, and some of us with baking businesses struggle and lose customers. The service is poor.”

Residents also lamented the poor maintenance of infrastructure such as roads and streetlights and crime.

The DA has previously denied the segregation of service delivery, with mayoral hopeful Cilliers Brink saying –  in the days leading up to the shock election of his opponent Makwarela –  that while there had been disappointments like the auditor-general’s report, it was time to be candid with residents about the city’s finances. 

He said they are confident that they will be able to bring stability to the city's finances and improve service delivery, should they return to power.

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