What on earth is going on in the city of Tshwane?

Democratic Alliance (DA) Mayor Cilliers Brink is fighting for his political  life, as the multiparty coalition that put him in power is on the brink of collapse. The African National Congress (ANC), which was consigned to the opposition benches in the city, has tried to raise several motions of no-confidence against Brink over the past three months. 

Last week, the ANC submitted yet another motion of no confidence in Brink, which will be heard on 26 September. If they succeed, the city will have another mayor—its sixth in five years.

Currently, the city is governed by a DA-led coalition that also includes Action SA, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP).

Given its numbers, the ANC won’t succeed in ousting Brink unless one of the DA’s supporting coalition partners switches loyalties, and that seems precisely what Herman Mashaba’s Action SA is doing.

Mashaba the flip-flopper

But didn’t Mashaba once famously call the ANC a criminal enterprise and the devil, promising never to work with them? He refused to be part of the government of national unity just a few months ago… but politics is all about the flipflop. Mashaba recently worked with the ANC to put in a new mayor in Joburg and seems set to do the same thing in Tshwane.

As political journalist Stephen Grootes puts it: “Mashaba has found himself out of power and unable to direct or control the public narrative… This new decision to work with the ANC may be an admission that he made the wrong choice.”

Plus, Mashaba has always had a tense relationship with the DA, a party he was represented as mayor in Jhb before the relationship broke down. He says the blue party treats ActionSA members “like trash” and claims the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who he partnered with back in 2017 as Joburg mayor,  were better political partners. 

Former action SA member Bongani Baloyi said in an interview recently that Mashaba was determined to punish the DA after their pre-election attempts to work together in the Multiparty “moonshot pact” coalition fell apart after none of the parties achieved enough to go it alone without the ANC. Mashaba may feel betrayed that the DA ended up working with the ANC after all. 

ActionSA members may not agree

Yet Mashaba seems at odds with his own party, which put out a statement just recently calling the previous ANC motions of no confidence in the DA-led coalition “opportunistic”. 

ActionSA caucus leader in the City of Tshwane Jackie Mathabathe said the coalition has made huge gains in service delivery, is rooting out corruption and institutionalising the captured procurement, and has seen improvements in audit outcomes, with a  R10 billion decrease in irregular expenditure.

Brink has served as Mayor since March last year, taking over from former DA mayor and DA member Randall Williams. He served under Williams as a member of the city’s mayoral committee (MMC) from 2016 and 2019.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont too, is taking a more measured approach, saying the party is considering polling and the Auditor General’s report on Tshwane before deciding. It’s worth noting ActionSA doesn’t have the healthiest internal democracy, and still has not held an elective conference that could challenge Mashaba’s leadership. It’s leaders at every level have been appointed, not elected. 

The DA, meanwhile, isn’t holding its breath for other ActionSA leaders to stand up to Mashaba. It said it was no longer relying on ActionSA in a statement this week. “While Beaumont said the party is still reviewing its continuing participation in the Tshwane coalition, Mashaba has already made it clear that ActionSA would prefer to have the EFF as a coalition partner,” DA caucus spokesperson Kwena Moloto said. 

ANC trying to get back access to state coffers?

Moloto has also previously alleged the ANC’s no-confidence motion is in revenge for the coalition implementing tighter financial controls and cutting off access to illicit income, The South African reported. The DA said ANC Tshwane secretary George Matjila threatened to table the motion over changes to the city’s waste collection tender, which replaced 60% of previous waste removal contractors.

So, is Mashabaa  giving “the devil” –  to use his own words – the keys to the Tshwane house because his feelings have been hurt, and he is feeling his declining political power? Perhaps. And in the end, residents will suffer. 

Quick background:

Tshwane’s political instability dates back to the 2016 local government elections, where no party won an outright majority. The DA initially took control of the Tshwane council by forming a coalition with several smaller parties. At one point, the EFF also played a role in supporting the DA to keep the ANC out of power, but their relationship has since become unpredictable. Again in the 2021 local government elections, the DA did not get a clear majority and tried to maintain control of the city through a coalition.  

However, both post-election coalitions have never been stable, as shifts in provincial and national politics impacted the local government. Tensions frequently flared up, and coalitions broke down as smaller parties jostled for power and influence. These fallouts affected service delivery and governance, with power swinging back and forth amid political manoeuvring.

This is the seat allocation in the council, after the 2016 and then after the 2021 local government elections. 

Tshwane Council seats by party:

Parties2016%2021%
DA9343%6932%
ANC8942%7535%
EFF2512%2311%
FF+42%178%
ACDP10%21%
Cope10%10%
PAC10%10%
IFP00%10%
Others00%2512%
TOTAL214214