Newly elected City of Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell says now starts the process of giving the people of Ekurhuleni their dignity back.
She says she will ensure that every tender that is issued, is done so in a transparent and fair manner and ensure there is value for money.
Campbell defeated former mayor Mzwandile Masina to become the new mayor during a vote in the Germiston Council Chambers on Gauteng’s East Rand.
Chaos broke out during voting for the position of mayor of Ekurhuleni metro, after an Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) official called out an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillor who was taking a photo of the ballot paper.
Voting had to be halted as some African National Congress (ANC) and EFF councillors started verbally attacking each other.
Eventually, calm was restored and voting resumed leading to the election of Campbell as the new mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni Metro.
“This is the change our people have been waiting for, for 20 years. Now is not the time for more promises, now is the time to get things done. For far too long our people have been living in substandard conditions.”
“Our residents have been living in a metro where service delivery is non-existent, where millions of rands spend on housing projects, and substations and yet nothing to show. This ends today,” explains Campbell.
In the video below, Campbell addresses the council:
Of the 221 votes cast, Campbell got 116 beating Masina who obtained 105 votes.
Masina says he does not feel any resentment.
“This is politics, how can I be aggrieved. I was not born with a vote in my mouth. What happened was democracy in action. I am still intact. I congratulate all the office bearers who have been elected and I am happy for all of them.”
“I have spoken to the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Tanya Campbell. I have assured her of the peaceful transition, so that we can get back to the business of council and do our work for the betterment of our community,” adds Masina.
EFF leader Julius Malema had warned after the collapse of their coalition talks with the ANC that they would work to destabilise the ANC.
It now appear that his threats were not just empty rhetoric.
DA Ekurhuleni chairperson Nkululeko Dunga says, “Well the holistic agenda more than anything is to deconstruct not only factionalism but corruption that emanates within the ANC and its governance. So there is a holistic agenda to demobilise corruption in SA and it starts with the removal of the ANC.”
The position of Speaker of Council and Chief Whip have also gone to DA councillors Raymond Dlamini and Khetha Shandu respectively.
In the video below, Raymond Dlamini of the DA elected as Speaker in the City of Ekurhuleni:
