Solly: Moya is a 'ribbon cutter'

Gauteng's DA leader says most of the work for which ActionSA mayor for Tshwane has taken credit was done by her predecessor, Cilliers Brink

- Lunga Mzangwe

Former Tshwane mayor and now Democratic Alliance (DA) leader in Gauteng Solly Msimanga says the current mayor, Nasiphi Moya, is a "ribbon-cutter" who has taken credit for work initiated by his party.

In an interview with the Mail & Guardian Msimanga accused Moya of "jumping" on a number of issues which he said had been initiated under the mayoral committee led by her predecessor, Cilliers Brink, of the DA. Moya served as Brink's deputy.

"Look at the issue of the water in Hammanskraal, you look at the issue of the [Tshwane] finances now. Brink said we cannot afford these things and we will afford them when there is more money, and now she wants to take over as if it was something done by her," Msimanga said.

"You look at the issue of proper management of the waste management trucks, and now you are able to track the trucks. These are things that are not starting now; she was part of the decision in Brink's mayoral committee where these things were initiated.

"Now she wants to come and cut ribbons and then claims that she's doing this and doing that, but reality is that these are things that have been started off before. It's an advantage of being an incumbent at this point in time, and it is something she would like to take advantage of."

After at least 20 years without safe drinking water, in January, Moya declared the water in some parts of Hammanskraal, which is in the Tshwane municipality, were now safe for consumption after the completion of the first phase of a water purification project.

But large parts of Hammanskraal townships are still without clean drinking water, a crisis the DA says it would have resolved by now had it remained in charge of Tshwane.