Goodhope Dlangamandla | goodhope@radioislam.co.za
14 February 2023 / 12:00 PM CAT
2-minute read

Photo Credit: Stellenbosch University

After the abrupt resignation of embattled Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams, the DA-led coalitions in Gauteng became increasingly flimsy.

ActionSA, a party with which the DA was in a coalition government in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane, called for accountability in the City of Tshwane last month, which was under fire, having incurred an adverse audit opinion from the auditor-general for the 2021/22 fiscal year.

Prof. Zwelinzima Ndevu, Director of the School of Public Leadership at the University of Stellenbosch, stated in an interview with Radio Islam International that the mayor’s resignation was anticipated because of the pressure he was facing from his party.

He would have been forced out of office by his coalition partners, and the DA had he not resigned voluntarily, said Ndevu.

“I think given the adverse audit report they received and the scandal that has been building, this was inevitable.”

Williams was under much pressure from his party, Ndevu continued, because his party advocates for clean governance.

“You will recall that his party claims to be the one that advocates for clean governance, so when a scandal like this one surfaces, it puts everything the party stands for in jeopardy. He was undoubtedly under pressure within his party,” said Ndevu.

He said these scandalous revelations came at the wrong time since the country would be hosting national and provincial elections next year.

He said Williams is mostly to blame for the adverse audit finding, but he also pointed the finger at the legislature, the council, and the administrator.

Ndevu believed Williams’ departure was insufficient to save the DA-led coalition in Tshwane, describing it as “fragile.”

He said this coalition would only be stable once we have a stable government in that region of the country since it is based on resources and positions rather than ideology.

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