Cope urges new Tshwane mayor to prioritise service delivery
The Congress of the People (Cope) held a media briefing at Tshwane House in Pretoria on Wednesday to officially introduce and congratulate their party member and newly elected mayor Murunwa Makwarela.
Makwarela beat the Democratic Alliance (DA) Cilliers Brink by 11 votes on Tuesday to take the reins from Randall Williams who resigned at the beginning of February.
Speaking on behalf of Cope’s congress national committee, the party’s highest decision-making body between congresses, deputy president Willy Madisha outlined the party’s expectations of Makwarela.
“Dr Makwarela must know, and we know that he is aware that the people of Tshwane are hungry for services; and not only services but quality services.”
Madisha listed the provision of clean drinking water, tackling crime and drug abuse, ending cable theft, and addressing potholes and crimes against women and children as some of the priority areas the mayor should focus on.
Cope’s deputy president also warned against cadre deployment when selecting the new mayoral committee.
“We expect that Dr Makwarela should go out and look out for people who are fit for purpose, and not a cadre deployment policy as we have seen with that other party, everyone with qualifications and capacity who are suitable for the job must be given an opportunity. The people of Tshwane are sick and tired of corruption.”
Makwarela, who has been council speaker since 2021, prepares to lead the capital city on the back of a damning auditor general report which painted a grim picture of the metro’s finances.
“We are in the red now, we can’t even pay our creditors,” Makwarela said.
“I asked the question and the previous mayor and MMC couldn’t answer. I said what is the actual financial state of our city? But I am the EM [executive mayor] now, and I know how to check because I have been head of department, I have been director of the chairperson of several boards of state-owned entities, I’ve been the CEO of multinational organisations. I know how to check , and I am going to check,” the new mayor vowed.
READ: Tshwane political instability adding to service delivery woes - analyst
No date was given for when the new mayor will announce his new cabinet. However, he confirmed the councillors behind his win held meetings within their respective parties to discuss the way forward.
“We should have another special council meeting this Friday. I have resigned as the speaker so there is a vacancy there, and we need to fill that position as early as yesterday so that the council can table all the pending reports. So, I think between now and Friday; if things go according to plan; we should be able to find each other. We don’t just want to fill spaces, we want people who are fit for purpose”, Makwarela said.
The party, which has one seat in the Tshwane council, has also dismissed claims by the DA that the new mayor is a “puppet” who will be controlled by larger parties such as the African National Congress and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
ALSO READ:
