The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it believes it has done enough in its fight to retain its position in the City of Tshwane as the governing party.
The party ran the City through a rocky coalition government which saw the dissolving of the council and the city placed under administration. With 97% of the votes captured in Tshwane, the DA stands at 32.02%, second to the ANC which stands at 34.53%.
“The DA ran a strong campaign in the City of Tshwane under very difficult circumstances especially considering how the ANC tried to use every trick in the book to regain power in the city by placing the city under administration and plunging it into debt once again. We are of the belief that the people of Tshwane did come out and a number of them have placed their faith in the Democratic Alliance,” says DA’s Spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube.
DA’s John Steenhuisen briefs media on coalitions and election results:
Mixed reactions in Tshwane
Some in Pretoria, the capital of the country, expressed mixed reactions to the outcome of the LGE. The City of Tshwane will once again be governed under a coalition.
62-year-old Welhiminah Tleyane from Mabopane says she’s pleased with how things have turned out in the Metro. She’s optimistic the incoming crop of councillors will speed up service delivery in the area.
“We are hopeful but I don’t know how much will the new councilor do for us. We shall wait and see. There are no developments, we only have gravel roads. There are no services at all. We struggle with water. There are no tarred roads. Since they stopped that other site. As for our section, we are still waiting.”
But for some, the outcome does not matter. This young man is one of many South Africans who chose to stay away from the polls on Monday.
“If you can look at the percentage of the youths who are not working and they are giving us R350. As a father how do you look after your children with that? Our government is only available to us when they want our votes. And they then tell us we will build houses and create jobs for you. During the year we don’t see them. The government is doing nothing that we see.”
Political parties remain optimistic. The new kid on the block ActionSA says it is pleased with how it has fared in the capital. The party is now the fourth biggest in the metro, after the ANC, DA and the EFF. ActionSA’s mayoral candidate Abel Tau.
A look back at the governance dynamics and service delivery issues of Tshwane metro:
Hessequa municipality
Meanwhile, the party has celebrated its victory in the Hessequa municipality of the Southern Cape. It includes towns such as Albertinia, Still Bay, Riversdal and Heidelberg.
In many other municipalities in the Western Cape, the DA has lost support but they have gained additional seats at Hessequa and Mossel Bay for a majority rule.
“We’re overjoyed that we’ve seen a majority council being elected and which will be DA-led in terms of Mossel Bay and Hessequa. Both municipalities have been flag-bearers in terms of excellence in terms of DA governance. And their voters have once again shown their faith in us getting things done, but also enhancing the quality of their lives,” says DA Western Cape Interim Deputy leader, Tertuis Simmers.
