Outgoing Tshwane mayor says stepping down in the interest of Tshwane citizens

Outgoing Tshwane Executive Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa says he’s stepping down in the interest of the Tshwane citizens.

Wednesday was Mokgalapa’s last day in office, paving the way for the City of Tshwane to appoint a new mayor in a special council sitting on Thursday.

Mokgalapa’s exit followed a “Sex in the City ” scandal after the surfacing of an audio recording in November 2019.

In the video below, Tshwane Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa says he laid charges of extortion and blackmail following the leaking of the above-mentioned audio. 

‘No regrets’

Makgalapa says he has no regrets but concedes he could have done better to accelerate service delivery.

“In terms of ensuring that I accelerate service delivery, there are no regrets. It’s once in a lifetime opportunity. The challenges are huge; the City of Tshwane is so big with a lot of service delivery backlog and issues.

He adds, “What I would’ve wanted to have done more was perhaps accelerate more service delivery, but the red tape municipalities, in general, are always a problem because you have to follow a lot of bureaucratic red tape to follow some of the problems.”

Hammanskraal water cuts

Mokgalapa says failure to respond speedily to the Hammanskraal water crisis is his biggest regret in office. Last year, Hammanskraal residents faced severe water cuts with Tshwane criticised for its slow response to the crisis.

Mokgalapa was in office for just a year, including three months where he was on special leave following a Sex in the City scandal – that’s the one that alleges sexual relations between Mokgalapa and former MMC Sheila Senkubuge. He has denied this.

In the video below, Stevens Mokgalapa announces his resignation as Tshwane Mayor. 

Hoping to replace Mokgalapa

The DA announced former Economic Development MMC Randall Williams as its mayoral candidate in Tshwane.  Williams came out tops against Abel Tau who had been acting mayor for a few months.

He also beat DA council speaker Katlego Mathebe who had also been eying the mayor’s seat.
This has caused divisions in the Tshwane DA caucus.
Williams denies he was handpicked by DA federal council chairperson Hellen Zille.

“One of the reasons I actually applied for this position was because I had messages from members of the so-called Black Caucus who asked me to apply. Messages of support from a wide range of people. The first time I actually met Helen Zille was in the interview. I never met Hellen Zille before.”

The Tshwane Council will convene on Thursday to elect a new mayor.

Both the ANC and EFF are playing their cards close to their chest. The parties have not yet announced mayoral candidates, however, they can still do so during Thursday’s council meeting.  -Additional reporting by Sipho Stuurman