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The DA in Gauteng welcomes the judgment of the High Court vindicating the DA’s fight against the disruption of service delivery through state capture and the crooked politicisation of civil service offices in Ekurhuleni. This sets a precedent that democracy and the rule of law, the foundations of delivery-focused government, cannot be undermined by the ANC-EFF-led coalition of corruption.

The events in Ekurhuleni have left residents rightly frustrated. The unlawful hijacking of the City Council by the unlawful political actions of the City Manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi, to promote the interests of the ANC, EFF and their accomplices in Council, stalled the ability of the DA-led Multi-Party Coalition government to focus on pressing service delivery solutions.

The hijacking of Council was nothing more than state capture at a local government level facilitated by the politicisation of civil service offices. And residents, as always, got the short end of the stick.

Had it not been for the political games of the coalition of corruption, the Ekurhuleni City Council would have been able to ensure swift passage of the City’s Adjustment Budget – passage of which would ensure further progress on the road of getting services to the quality residents deserve.

The hijacking of the City Council meant that the DA-led government’s plan to fix, maintain, and expand the City’s fleet of refuse trucks with an allocation of R21 700 000 has stalled.

The hijacking of the City Council meant that the DA-led government’s plan to provide debt impairment assistance, services, and bulk purchases of water and electricity through an increase in available resources of over R2 billion has stalled.

The hijacking of the City Council meant that the DA-led government’s plan to deal urgently with loadshedding through IPPs with an extra allocation of R36 700 000 has stalled.

The hijacking of the City Council meant that the DA-led government’s plan to deal urgently with potholes and streetlight repairs with an extra allocation of R19 170 000 has stalled.

Today’s DA court victory is another blow to the ANC-EFF coalition of corruption and the forces of cadre deployment and state capture that have infected too many government structures in South Africa.

The DA calls on all parties in the Ekurhuleni City Council to get back to work and to urgently pass the DA-led Multi-Party Coalition’s Adjustment Budget so that the residents of Ekurhuleni can get what they are entitled to: government that works and works for them.

Issued by Solly Msimanga - DA Gauteng Provincial Leader