DA councillor mulls over party’s future
ALEXANDRA – We all thought that the party(DA) was for all
Shadrack Mkhonto, a long-standing senior DA party member who ditched the ANC 20 years ago said his blue brigade was at a crossroads.
This after dramatic developments which left the party reeling and the City of Johannesburg leaderless following mayor Herman Mashaba’s resignation. His exit was followed later by National party leader Mmusi Maimane, deputy chairperson of the Federal Council Athol Trollip and Parliament chief whip John Steenhuisen.
Their departure was apparently due to the election of former leader and Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille as Federal Council chairperson. The developments put analysts into overdrive with many predicting the death knell for the party ahead of the 2021 municipal elections.
Mkhonto, dubbed the mayor of Alex and seemingly a close ally of Mashaba and Maimane, said the resignations left many reeling and created uncertainty as expected of any unforeseen changes.
He wouldn’t be drawn on his future but said of most concern would be the risk to the positive developments instituted by Mashaba through the coalition government. “There may be reversals if the coalition arrangement ends,” Mkhonto said, fearing that investigations spearheaded by Mashaba into corruption, financial and general maladministration by the previous ANC administration may be scuppered if they regained power.
He said graft running into millions of rands was unearthed by investigations. “Hopefully, Mashaba’s replacement will retain continuity of hope, confidence and the pro-poor policies and actions which Mashaba drove without fear or favour.”
Mkhonto claimed the mayor was felled from within his own ranks by colleagues who were threatened by his pro-poor policies. “They accused him of giving inordinate focus on informal settlements to the detriment of other service delivery priorities like grass cutting in suburbs. Their perception contradicted the coalition agreement which prioritised a pro-poor agenda.”
He and others have also been left guessing if the development will ease the ANC’s return to power. “I doubt they will muster enough votes from smaller parties with one vote each. Their [ANC] history is still fresh in people’s minds, especially in Alexandra, where preliminary results of graft investigations on the multi-million rand Alexandra Renewal Project, show financial wastage, lack of accountability and corruption.”
He urged for the investigations to be concluded and those found guilty prosecuted and public resources recovered and used for what they were meant for.
He detailed some of Mashaba’s legacy as the in-sourcing of hundreds of security guards jobs which ended the monopoly of labour brokers, the recovery and conversion of disused factories and hijacked flats for residential accommodation, extending operating hours of clinics to enable access to health by workers even on weekends and the clean-up campaigns copied from Rwanda.
“His detractors felt some of these pushed more the EFF agenda.” But Mashaba stood his ground until the writing was on the wall with Zille’s election. “He opted to leave than be pushed, hence, preserving his legacy.”
The vacuum left by Mashaba will test the City’s administration but Mkhonto believes it will prevail. “New and efficient operational systems, competent professionals and positive work ethos were installed to replace cadre deployment.”
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