cities are working hard to stop corruption and ensure quality services, says Maimane

At a media briefing in Soweto the DA leader praised Democratic Alliance-led metropolitan councils on how they have brought about change a year after taking over from the African National Congress (ANC).“We showed that change can happen, and change has taken place. A year ago, South Africans laid their trust in the DA, the DA grew and started to govern in three new metros and retained Cape Town.

He was accompanied by  johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, Solly Msimanga of Tshwane, Cape Towns Patricia De Lille and Nelson Mandela Bay's Anthol Trollip. he mentioned the how thw cities were working hard to stop corruption and ensure quality service.

As a result of cooperating with opposition parties the DA leader reiterated that coalition governments were a model for the future. In Nelson Mandela Bay, a once lauded coalition led by Trollip and his deputy, UDM’s Mongameli Bobani, is under threat as the  working relationship between the two fell through. The two disagreed on issues of governance and staffing at the Eastern Cape metro. The tension escalated after Trollip fired Bobani as MMC for public health. A motion of no confidence debate against Bobani has been set for next week, Trollip told journalists. Maimane said it was evident that coalition governments were a ”model for the future.”Msimanga has seen a council revolt as ANC councilors disrupted council meetings, the EFF demanded that all outsourced workers be in-sourced by the city and occupation of vacant land in the capital driven by the red berets. The increasing land invasions prompted Msimanga to establish an anti-land grab unit to deal with the land invaders. Mashaba’s election in Johannesburg had initially bothered EFF leader Julius Malema after the local government elections. Malema accused the businessman-turned-politician of being out of touch with the country’s poor masses. However, the EFF voted for the DA to take over, rendering the ANC to the opposition benches. The country’s economic hub’s council has not escaped political mud slinging between the parties. Mashaba has vowed to stop ”ANC corruption” which he said has so far cost the city millions that could have helped improve services for residents. He added that the city’s anti-corruption unit was tackling over 900 graft cases, linked to the previous administration.

But with everything said and done and having weathered the rocky terrain the confident Maimane said,“We have indeed taken a big step in ensuring that if we can achieve it at local government, we can certainly build towards a post-ANC 2019,” A coalition government post the 2019 general elections was being modelled from the present local government framework at the metros, he said. “We agreed with the EFF that they would help us pass and vote with us on all matters. This to me is a genuine reminder that if we are willing to put the people’s needs first — and not patronage or corruption — much can be achieved. We inherited a mess…people often talk about state capture, forgetting that at local government level, corruption has taken root, capture has manifested itself with no services delivered to our people.”