Pretoria - There can be no doubt that progress has been made since apartheid, but progress has stalled under the current ANC government, newly elected Democratic Alliance mayoral candidate for the City of Tshwane Solly Msimanga said on Saturday.
In the City of Tshwane, corruption and maladministration sidelined service delivery, he said at a the city hall following his election as DA mayoral candidate in next year’s local government elections.
“And the Tshwane municipal government only works for itself and not the people. It is run by a small group who are only focused on enriching themselves, their families, and their friends,” he said.
The PEU smart meter contract debacle was just one example where greed, self-interest, and arrogance had trumped the interests of citizens.
“Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa and municipal manager Jason Ngobeni simply ignored the advice and instructions of National Treasury not to proceed with this contract.
“The result is that hundreds of millions of rand has been wasted after this failed contract had to be cancelled. Money that could have been spent on delivering services to communities,” Msimanga said.
It was clear that under an ANC council Tshwane could not move forward.
“Every year, millions of rand is underspent or misspent by the municipality. And any attempt by the DA to expose and debate these issues is quickly shut down by the ANC speaker in council.
“The DA is committed to bringing an end to these corrupt practices and the patronage network created by mayor Ramokgopa,” he said.
Poor service delivery, poverty, crime, and drugs should not be the norm for the people of Tshwane.
The DA would fight hard to eradicate these ills by cutting corruption and introducing interventions that attracted investment and created jobs.
“Tshwane is desperate for change; the DA will bring this change,” Msimanga said.
African News Agency