While outgoing Tshwane mayor Randall Williams says his untimely resignation was meant to prevent political instability in the Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni metros spilling over into South Africa’s capital city, an insider claims he was “pushed out”.  

A DA insider told Daily Maverick that Williams had come under fire shortly after his alleged involvement in a R26-billion tender bid involving a service provider Williams had allegedly handpicked to obtain a concession to refurbish, finance, operate and maintain the Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations.  

Read in Daily Maverick: “Tshwane coalition storm brews as DA mayor accused in R26bn tender bid” 

The plan to get rid of Williams had long been in the pipeline, with mayoral committee member for finance Peter Sutton poised to become the next mayor should coalition partners be in agreement, according to the insider. 

“After that [unsolicited bid] incident, things were never the same for him. There were numerous attempts by the leadership of the DA to get rid of him. The coalition partners were also not pleased with his performance. There was a suggestion that he steps down, which he refused. When the party threatened to fire him, he indicated he would take it to court,” the insider said.   

In his resignation, Williams said that during his tenure, which began in October 2020, he sought to ensure the stability of the multiparty coalition, deliver services, and  stabilise the city’s finances, having inherited a R4-billion deficit at the time.   

He was due to face a motion of no confidence, spearheaded by the ANC, later this month after he survived a motion in 2022.   

Read more in Daily Maverick: “ANC in Tshwane spearheads motion of no confidence against mayor as probe begins into R26bn power bid”  

Political ructions 

It has not been smooth sailing for DA mayors who took over Gauteng’s metros after the 2021 local government elections. In Johannesburg, Mpho Phalatse was ousted as mayor after a successful motion of no confidence,  and replaced by Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad, whose party has just three council seats.  

In Ekurhuleni, DA speaker Raymond Dhlamini suffered a similar fate, with opposition parties having expressed their intention to bring yet another motion against mayor Tania Campbell.  

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Ekurhuleni mayor likely next for the chop as ANC and EFF persist with DA leadership purge from Gauteng coalitions”

“I do not want the political instability that has taken place in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni to spill over into Tshwane. To keep the multiparty coalition together required continuous communication and engagement to ensure unity in our city to achieve our goals,” said Williams in a statement.

“I resign today because I believe it is in the best interest for continued stability of the coalition in the city. Being executive mayor of the capital city has not been without its difficulties, but I have embraced every challenge that has come my way in the execution of my duties, all of which have allowed my own personal development.”  

ActionSA’s Micheal Beaumont said that although they were surprised by Williams’s resignation, they were aware of ongoing conversation about “the political consequences required in the City of Tshwane” as it related to the adverse audit findings, the unsolicited bid proposal issues and other service delivery projects Williams had presided over. 

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Beaumont said coalition partners had scheduled an urgent meeting for Monday evening to express their commitment to ensuring that the multiparty coalition succeeded for the residents of Tshwane. 

Previously, ActionSA expressed no confidence in Williams and joined those who called for his head, arguing: “We don’t have a DA problem in Tshwane, we have a Randall problem.”

ANC caucus spokesperson Kgomotso Masilela expressed similar sentiments about Williams’s future, as he argued that his party would now purge the DA leadership, as was the case in the other two metros. 

“The ANC’s attitude is that we do not want to see the coalition surviving, because even if it does, it does not serve our people. So, our game plan is to ensure that the DA and its coalition partners are ousted out of power and that we are able to bring in a new government that will push for the things that the DA failed to do,” he said.    

Chance of a stable coalition?

Daily Maverick political analyst Wayne Sussman said that despite Willliams’s resignation, the DA coalition has numbers to form a relatively stable coalition.   

As things stand, there are 214 council seats, with 108 needed for a majority, that is, 50% plus one. 

The DA bloc has: DA 69+Action SA 19 + FF+ 17 + ACDP 2. Total: 107. 

Any one of COPE 1 or Republican Conference 1 or UIM 1 gives the party a majority. Even if ACDP jumps ship, it can get those three smaller parties (107-110). 

Meanwhile, the ANC bloc has: ANC 75 +EFF 23 + PA 1 + PAC 1 + GOOD 1 + ATM 1 + AIC 1, which works out to between 103 and 106.

“If the DA, ActionSA and Freedom Front Plus can find each other, there should be a new mayor from that bloc. It is less likely that the metro will fall back into the hands of the ANC, because there are also other small parties who would rather work with the DA than the ANC.  

“The tensions are at a record high, the relationships are at a low point, but if the DA and ActionSA and Freedom Front can put their differences aside, unite behind one candidate, have a clear vision and articulate how they’ll turn the city around, they should be able to regain control,” said Sussman. 

Williams has also come under fire in the council after Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s report for the 2021/22 financial year found that Tshwane did not have adequate systems for identifying and disclosing all irregular expenditure, which sat at more than R10.4-billion at the time.    

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Ekurhuleni mayor likely next for the chop as ANC and EFF persist with DA leadership purge from Gauteng coalitions”

In a statement, the ANC in the greater Tshwane region said Williams was running away from the adverse audit findings. 

“A dilapidated city with no service delivery all round, a low staff morale and a lack of coherent leadership from him and his entire executive. It is therefore the view of the ANC greater Tshwane region that the multiparty coalition needs to be reconfigured to usher in new leadership that will take the city forward,” said the party’s regional secretary, George Matjila. 

DA federal leader John Steenhuisen thanked Williams for his commitment to improving the levels of service delivery to Tshwane’s residents. “At times the challenges seemed insurmountable, but he never took his hands off the wheel. That is the embodiment of the DA promise to those who live in metros and municipalities where the DA governs”.

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga also praised Williams for his work in putting the needs of the residents first in an often turbulent political environment. “The fact that he is prepared to stand down in order to ensure stability in the metro speaks volumes of his commitment to the residents as well as the political process.” 

While Williams initially said he was resigning with immediate effect, he issued a subsequent statement saying he would remain in his position until the end of the month to ensure the work of the city was unhindered. 

“After consultation with various political parties in Tshwane and in order to ensure the continuity of the work of council I have subsequently written to the Speaker and Chief Whip and amended my resignation to take effect from midnight on 28 February 2023.” DM