Pretoria - Embattled City of Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa announced his resignation from the position on Sunday.
"It is with regret that I inform the people of Tshwane and my colleagues in my party, the Democratic Alliance, that I intend resigning as executive mayor of the City of Tshwane before the next council meeting at the end of February," he said in a statement.
"This has been a tough decision. However, the most important consideration is to put the people of Tshwane first. In my view, stepping down would pave the way for further progress beyond that which was achieved in my term this far."
Mokgalapa said that, on the other hand, he was cognisant of the fact that his presence in office "is a football that others with political malice cannot resist kicking around".
"Those that put politics first, risk dragging down the administration and, unfortunately, they did not care about the people. I do. I wish to make clear that I have not broken any laws and am confident that I would emerge positively from any assessment of my conduct. But in the end, I have concluded that it is best for the city if I stand down as mayor. Accordingly, I shall do so," he said.
"I intend working every second of every hour of my last month in office. In doing so, I will announce further successes from my administration and will make known plans that I will hand over to my successor," Mokgalapa said.