Getting a grip on Tshwane’s finances tops DA mayoral candidate Brink’s list

Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink says his first task if he is elected would be to work with the city’s coalition partners to fix the city’s finances and find ways of mitigating the effects of rolling blackouts on the city.

“I am under no illusions and I know that this is going to be an enormous task.

“My first responsibility is to get a grip on the Tshwane finances. This will require difficult decisions and at the same time service delivery cannot be compromised to see a progressive improvement of basic services, reducing power interruptions and the effects of load shedding on service delivery,” said Brink.

The DA on Tuesday officially announced that Brink will stand for elections to replace Randall Williams as Tshwane mayor.

Williams resigned last week after his party and coalition partners held him responsible for a series of governance failures including a dismal auditor-general’s report, the loss of R292m to tender irregularities during attempts to upgrade the Rooiwal Water Treatment plant in Hammanskraal and other service delivery failures.

Brink beat four other candidates who all were required to apply and appear before the DA selection committee.

Phalaborwa-born Brink returns to the city where he graduated with an LLB degree in 2012 before settling in the city. He served as a mayoral committee member in Tshwane between 2016 and 2018 before he went to parliament in 2019.

He is expected to step down as DA shadow minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.

Brink, who in his capacity as party spokesperson, has not always had a friendly relations with some members of the coalition emphasised the need to work with the partners.

“It is important that I meet the leaders of the other parties in the multiparty coalition to also get their input on what the mayoral agenda must look like.

I hope to meet them [Wednesday] to get a clearer indication of what the next move should be to build a city that works for all its people,” said Brink.

The city’s speaker of council Dr Murunwa Makwarela is under pressure to convene a council meeting to elect a mayor because the municipality has until next Tuesday to table and pass the budget.

This may only be tabled by a mayor.

Brink is almost assured of being elected because the governing coalition, which consists of the DA, ActionSA, AfriForum, ACDP, Cope and IFP enjoys 109 seats between themselves in the 214 seater council. A total of 108 are required to vote for or pass a motion.