By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
File:Solly Msimanga announced Tyrone Gray as Mogale City DA’s mayoral candidate. Photo Credit: Jaco Human.
The Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) council convened at Centenary Hall on Tuesday, November 23 to inaugurate its newly elected ward and proportional representative (PR) councillors, and to vote on other important municipal political positions.
Cllr Tyrone Gray was elected the Executive Mayor for Mogale City Local Municipality and Cllr Jacqueline Pannall has been elected the new Council Speaker.
Mogale City has been plagued by serious service delivery challenges, financial mismanagement and lack of economic growth and productivity.
Meanwhile DA leader John Steenhuisen says the party was just as surprised as the rest of South Africa when the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) threw their weight behind their mayoral candidates in the Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg metro municipalities.
The EFF ensured quite the upset on Monday evening in both these metros, when they voted in support of the DA’s mayoral candidates,Dr Mpho Phalatse and Tania Campbell, as mayors of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni respectively.
This after a week of drama which indicated that the ANC may retain control of both municipalities, due to the DA refusing to work with the EFF and withdrawing from proposed coalition government negotiations with several other parties.
Steenhuisen made it clear though that the DA would not allow EFF to hold them hostage by forcing them to concede to any poor government decisions.
“We are certainly not here to cling to power at all cost and would sooner return to the opposition benches than give way to demands that are unrealistic, corrupt or require us to govern badly.
“I also want to make it clear that we did not solicit the support of the EFF – or ActionSA for that matter – for our candidates in these metros. There was no deal made with them, and there is no quid pro quo for supporting our candidates.”
Steenhuisen said the DA would put proposals on the table to end corruption, improve service delivery and the cities’ finances and job creation.