The newly elected coalition government of the City of Tshwane has denied allegations that it was targeting right wing pressure group Afro-forum through a review of a service delivery Memorandum of Understanding the city’s previous DA-led coalition government entered into.
Afri-Forum and the DA have embarked on a public campaign urging residents to stand against the new administration which is set to review the controversial deal which saw the group cut grass in parts of the capital.
The mayor Nasiphi Moya who on Wednesday announced the new administration’s 100 days plan said the review is not confined to Afri-Forum.
“We have some 69 MOUs and all of them are being reviewed, its not about Afri-Forum or their reputation ( perceived to be anti black), we are looking into every single one of them to say, is this arrangement beneficial to the city? Should we continue with it? That is all that’s happening,” said the mayor.
Afro-Forum and the DA are adamant the deal is for free and the Mayor could not ascertain if that was indeed the case stating only that the review will include establishing if there were commercial benefits for the NGO.
Moyà’s deputy, Bonzo Modise was less diplomatic accusing Afri-Forum and the DA of reducing the review to the EFF.
“This is not an EFF thing like the other side has suggested, it’s our thing. It says memorandum of understanding so if there’s no understanding we can’t continue with it,” said Modise.
“Tshwane’s new ANC-EFF-ASA coalition wants to review the City of Tshwane’s partnerships with community outfits/NGO. Partnerships, already subject to stringent regulation, to cut grass, fence parks, and take custodianship of public spaces. Bizarre, since a helping hand in better-off areas frees up city resources to spend in poorer areas. Maybe their calculation is that fewer partnerships = more tenders,” said Celliers Brink who was defended by the same Afri-Forum when he was ousted as mayor of the capital.
The new administration announced Bolt plans for turning around the capital city.