A petty scene is playing out in the embattled City of Tshwane. It involves free service delivery and maybe a bit of jealousy.
Well, the newly appointed Member of the Mayoral Council (MMC) for Environmental Affairs and Agriculture, Obakeng Ramabodu, is opposed to the Afrikaans rights organisation Afriforum helping the city deliver services to the residents of Tshwane.
Ramabodu is a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and, in July this year, was accused of racism after shouting “I’m craving to moer a Boer – I want the blood of an Afrikaner!” during a particularly disastrous council meeting.
Ramabodu said last week that he would propose cancelling a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Afriforum and the city. The MoU, signed in March, agrees that the civil rights organisation and the Metro will collaborate on promoting community-based waste removal and cleanup projects, grass-cutting projects, the removal of alien plant species, and community safety initiatives. The MoU was signed by ousted mayor Cilliers Brink and is expected to last five years.
Ramabodu was reported to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for his comments and has since apologised. “I specifically wish to apologise to the Afrikaner community for my remarks. My words were hurtful and inappropriate, and I deeply regret any pain they may have caused,” he said.
EFF Tshwane chief whip Godwin Ratikwane said that the MoU would lead to Afriforum “undermining the state.” In an appearance on Newzroom Afrika, Ratikwane said that Afriforum wanted to “push the Swart Gevaar narrative and institutionalise their racism” using municipalities. Swart Gevaar, which translates to “Black Danger,” was a term used during apartheid in South Africa, and it referred to the supposed threat that the white population believed they faced from the Black majority.
Ratikwane further accused Afriforum of only servicing areas where white people live. “they want to make sure that the white privilege is sustained so as the EFF we can’t want to coexist with racism and racist organisations in general.”
Afriforum CEO Kallie Kriel, in response to Ramabodu’s plans, said that the MoU didn’t have a cancellation clause. “But we don’t need your permission to improve the communities we live in. We will work to improve our communities, with or without you.”
The City of Tshwane has been in turmoil for a while now. Its finances have been a mess, with the city struggling to pay debts, including those of Eskom and Rand Water. Last year’s municipal workers’ strike only added to the chaos, and residents—especially in less-affluent areas—have been demanding better service delivery.
We told you in September about the chaos caused essentially by ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba throwing a tantrum and why then-Mayor Brink, who is from the Democratic Alliance (DA), might be kicked to the curb. Well, it happened, and the city now has a new mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya from ActionSA, who was Brink’s deputy. Moya is the metro’s fourth mayor in just three years.
As the EFF pushes ahead with its attempt to cancel the Afriforum MoU, we’re reminded of a Kenyan proverb about the grass suffering when two elephants fight. As these two major organisations prepare to duke it out, we hope the residents of Tshwane just get the services they pay for.
