Pretoria - High-ranking DA leader in Gauteng Michael Shackleton is the latest politician to walk out of the party, citing that it has lost touch with its grassroots.
Shackleton, the DA Tshwane deputy chairperson and a member of the Gauteng legislature, announced his defection to ActionSA yesterday.
Previously, he also served as a member of the National Assembly and as a local councillor in Tshwane.
His sudden resignation comes a month after senior Tshwane councillor Hannes Coetzee quit the party to join ActionSA over complaints of poor service delivery in the metro since 2016.
Both Coetzee and Shackleton are residents of Ward 96, which will be contested in the by-election next week.
Shackleton said: “One of the reasons why I resigned is because of how the DA has treated our community in Ward 96 since 2016 and now in this by-election.
“After all, how can you be part of a party that mistreats your own community where you live? I have witnessed how the DA did nothing to support the previous councillor Coetzee.”
He echoed Coetzee’s sentiment that the DA initially did nothing to support calls to investigate the corruption of the tender for the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant.
The City of Tshwane has since embarked on a probe into allegations of irregularities related to the first phase of a R2 billion project to upgrade the Rooiwal following concerns raised about the supply chain processes for the phase 1 tendering.
The investigation is expected to be concluded at the end of May.
He also blasted the DA, Tshwane mayor Randall Williams, party leader John Steenhuisen and federal council chairperson Helen Zille for suddenly coming out of the woodwork to speak about the service delivery needs in the ward ahead of the by-election.
“Suddenly, Steenhuisen and Zille are in our ward every other day – pretending that they care about this ward. But where were they? Where were they over the last 6 years? Where were they when our ward needed them?
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said Shackleton’s resignation spoke volumes about his party’s “continued rise within South African politics as well as the continued collapse of the long-established political parties”.
DA chairperson in Tshwane Mpho Mehlape-Zimu accused Shackleton of spreading lies “to curry favour with his new political party”.
“His resignation is purely intended to try to bolster his party’s efforts in the by-election in Ward 96 next week. The City has and continues to provide service delivery to the residents of Ward 96,” she said.
She said the City recently refurbished the Bon Accord substation in Ward 96 to ensure energy supply.
“Furthermore, the City has prioritised the Pyramid substation for refurbishment as well in the coming financial years,” she said.
Pretoria News