Pretoria - "Whatever happens tomorrow, history will judge us accordingly." These were the words of the City of Tshwane Executive Mayor Solly Msimanga, who faces motions of no confidence from the ANC and EFF on Thursday.
“The track record of our DA-led administration shows how hard we have worked to get the capital back on track. It shows how much we have put in place and the track record will indeed speak for itself. Whatever happens on Thursday history will indeed judge us accordingly,” Msimanga said.
He was addressing journalists at Tshwane House, where he also slammed the two parties that are hellbent on voting him out of office.
On the sidelines, Msimanga hinted to the Pretoria News that the DA could legally challenge the bids by the political parties to oust him. “I am going to continue looking at the legality of what they are trying to do and we will take it from there,” he said.
Asked what he would do should he be removed through the no-confidence vote, Msimanga replied: “I don’t know whether it will succeed because it doesn’t look like there is a common purpose that they are putting together. If there is no common purpose it means that anything can happen.”
Msimanga expressed concern about reports doing the rounds that some ANC members had been mobilised to disrupt council sittings should the bid to get rid of him fail.
“My only concern is that we have been getting reports that there might be some interruptions. I hope that doesn’t come to fruition so councillors can come in and do what needs to be done and go home safely.
“The reports we are getting is that the next move might be to cause disruption to ensure that council does not continue and we have seen that happening a number of times,” Msimanga said.
However, he said there had been precautionary measures put in place to ensure the safety of everyone who would attend the August ordinary council sitting.
During the media briefing, Msimanga questioned the motive by both the ANC and EFF to remove him. “Why are they (EFF) now colluding with the ANC to attempt to remove me as mayor when I have shown my commitment to clean governance and the highest levels of accountability and transparency?” he asked.
He accused the EFF of resisting scrutiny and accountability in the matter concerning GladAfrica, an engineering company allegedly appointed illegally by municipal manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola in November last year to assist in the rolling out of infrastructure projects in the city.
Mosola has been accused of flouting supply chain management processes during the awarding of the tender. Msimanga added: “Why are they so quick to defend the city manager before there has been an independent investigation into the GladAfrica matter and his role in it?”
Msimanga also criticised the ANC’s call for a fresh election, saying it was fundamentally undemocratic “considering that the people of Tshwane in the 2016 local government elections already elected a government of their choice and voted the ANC out of power".
“If the EFF chooses to collude with the ANC in the motion of no confidence, it will be a clear demonstration that they support and stand by corruption and wrongdoing.
“I stand undeterred by the motion of no confidence.
“I will uncover wrongdoing and take action without fear or favour, a practice alien to the ANC which has built itself on corruption,” he said.