The recent announcement by the Democratic Alliance (DA) of their premier candidate for Gauteng has not only confirmed how the party is devoid of the kind of leadership required to run a complex province like Gauteng but it has also exposed how the DA takes the people of this province for granted.

In a desperate attempt to appease the party's traditional support base, the DA was left with no choice but to do a juggling act and ensure that a candidate, who is yet to prove himself and is, in fact, battling to keep the ship afloat in his current post as the executive mayor of the City of Tshwane, is put forth.

The backing of Solly Msimanga, as the DA's face for its 2019 elections campaign is an admission by the party that it lacks the necessary depth of leadership.

The question would be "what exactly is the Tshwane mayor running away from in the Tshwane municipality, hardly halfway through his term"? Under Msimanga, Tshwane has seen a deterioration of service delivery standards, dubious multi-million rand contracts awarded and a growing culture of cronyism.

When Msimanga left the Gauteng provincial legislature to become the mayor of Tshwane, he said he was determined to bring change, cut corruption, create jobs and deliver basic services. However, the municipality has been embroiled in one scandal after another courtesy of Msimanga's inept leadership coupled with an unbridled love for power.

On Thursday the ANC caucus in the Tshwane council will be tabling a motion of no confidence in Msimanga because the dysfunctionality has reached crisis proportions. This has seen service delivery being sacrificed for political power and the maintenance of an unworkable coalition.

Perhaps the only way to get the municipality back on track is for the electorate to give a clear unambiguous mandate.

The people of Gauteng have discerned the fact that the DA has sold them a dummy, and its mayors in Joburg and Tshwane abuse their authority through flouting of procurement regulations.

For instance, a mayor appoints his wife's company to be a service provider and still sees nothing wrong with that. Senior managers get appointed into strategic positions without qualifications nor following of due processes.

The DA government has proven beyond reasonable doubt that it is not fit to govern. In Tshwane and Joburg they are presiding over deteriorating service standards, irregular appointments, purging of employees, irregular salary increases, financial mismanagement, conflicts of interest and maladministration.

It is a party that only excels in protecting and advancing the interests of a white minority.

Despite all this, the DA blames the ANC administration before it for its service delivery failures yet it has no problem claiming the successes of the same ANC as their own.

How can the DA be trusted with an economy as big as the GDP of Morocco, if it is that complacent, anti-black and bent on maintaining the status quo to appease its traditional base? The electorate won't be fooled. The people of Gauteng will be the judge come 2019! 

- Modiba is the ANC Gauteng province’s media liaison officer