Among them are tripartite alliance partner, SACP greater Tshwane district, and regional structures of Cosatu, the SA Students Congress (Sasco), ANC Youth League, Young Communist League, Tshwane Barekisi Forum, Tshwane Business Forum, Tshwane Train Sector and Phaphama Development Forum.
It was comrade versus comrade on Tuesday when the leaders of these organisations declared they had decided to stand up and defend the capital city and 1994’s democratic gains.
Apson Makaung, SACP district secretary, said: “We will not stand by and hope for divine intervention.
“If we don’t act, we will be delivering the city to the opposition.”
The parties will on Friday march from Marabastad to the SAPS head office, Co-operative Governance Department and the Union Buildings to deliver memorandums of demands. The groups want:
* The national government to act against corruption in Tshwane.
* The department to dissolve the municipality.
* The police to arrest the metro police officer who allegedly killed informal trader Forster Rivombo in January.
Most of their frustrations were directed at Ramokgopa. They accuse the mayor of being a one-man show and leading a corrupt municipality that never accounts to the people.
They also accuse the mayor of not implementing the ANC manifesto on fighting against corruption.
The parties also want advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza’s report into the R2.3 million golden handshake paid out to former city manager Kiba Kekana in 2010, and a subsequent investigation into the affairs of the city by the Special Investigation Unit, to be made public.
They blasted the city for not adhering to human resources policies and turning the expanded public works programme into a tool to benefit those connected to the political leadership.
They also slammed the misuse of public funds, with specific reference to the cancelled TribeOne Dinokeng music festival.
“The city’s legal group is incompetent and continues to misguide the municipality. The result has been many cases lost in the high court, such as the one on ward committees, Schubart Park and name changes,” said Makaung.
“Cadre development is defended in Tshwane, but theirs is not in the way intended by the ANC.”
Makaung said there had been several marches and memorandums to Tshwane over the years, to which the city never responded. The approach of Ramokgopa’s administration was, “they will march and march until they get tired”, he said.
ANC Youth League regional leader Lesego Makhubela said these matters could not be addressed via internal structures, because there was no alliance partnership in Tshwane. “Everything in the region revolves around one man,” who was “an alliance and law unto himself”.
Donald Mothoa, also of the SACP, pointed to the suspension of various senior city managers, including chief financial officer, Andile Dyakala, and the head of procurement. He said they all bit the bullet “because of one man”.
Ramokgopa’s spokesman Blessing Manale said the views were unmandated and differed from those of provincial and national structures of the organisations.
The calls for the dissolution of the council were far-fetched, he said, the implications of which were either misunderstood or disregarded.
The executive mayor had demonstrated strong leadership and political will to act against corruption, laziness and graft, he said.
Commitment to address these had been followed by terminating tenders, suspending officials and opening up all matters for scrutiny by the competent authorities, he said.
“Under Ramokgopa, the city has for the last three successive terms received an unqualified audit, continues to improve on its governance processes, and has established a regional service delivery model that has brought local government closer to the people.”
The Tshwane ANC holds its regional conference this weekend.
Makhubela said the youth league would boycott the event.
