Tshwane Executive Mayor Randall Williams resigned from his position on Monday and said his decision was in the interest of continued stability of the coalition in the city, which he said was one of his core goals.

In a letter seen by Polity, Williams said without the stability of a multi-party coalition service delivery would suffer.

Recently multi-party coalition arrangements have been unstable in the country resulting in mayoral chains being disputed by political parties. 

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

He noted that campaigning and ensuring proper governance of the city was challenging but he said he was able to do this with a good team, clear focus and a ten-point service delivery plan.

Williams thanked the residents of Tshwane for their support and added that the city had immense potential. He expressed hope for its future and growth.

Meanwhile, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen thanked Williams for his dedication and commitment to improving the levels of service delivery in Tshwane.

Steenhuisen said at times the challenges seemed insurmountable, but he stressed that Williams never took his hands off the wheel.

DA Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimang, who was once Tshwane mayor, expressed the party’s thanks and appreciation for the work done under Williams’s watch.

“Williams, after being elected Executive Mayor of Tshwane in the midst of the Covid pandemic in 2020 and in the wake of ANC mismanagement that left the city with a R4-billion deficit, set about stabilising the city’s finances. This he did as the head of a DA minority government until the 2021 local government elections,” Msimang said.