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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng wishes to congratulate Cllr Tania Campbell on her election as the Mayor of Ekurhuleni and Cllr Raymond Dhlamini as the Speaker of the Council.

During the Council meeting, it transpired that the DA may unexpectedly gain the majority vote for Mayor, thus providing an opportunity to wrestle power away from the previous dubious ANC government.

This was a spontaneous show of faith by other opposition parties in the DA’s ability to govern and a collective expression of the voters’ will to remove the ANC from government.

The DA’s provincial leadership endorsed the Ekurhuleni caucus’ choices for Speaker and Mayor and they were therefore nominated to contest and won both the Mayoral and Speaker positions.

We are extremely proud of our team in Ekurhuleni and we have great trust in their ability to turn the metro around and into a world-class city that delivers services to all residents.

Ekurhuleni has many challenges ranging from deteriorating electricity and water infrastructure to inherent corruption and various incomplete projects like the Harambee rapid bus transit system. Our team will have their work cut out for them to turn this city around.

There is a lot of work to be done by the DA in Ekurhuleni to ensure a stable government that delivers and we will be engaging with possible coalition partners during the week to ensure that we bring stability to the governance of the city.

We are under no illusion, it will be an uphill battle to turn Ekurhuleni around and that we will not be able to do it overnight. However, if given the chance the DA intends to work day and night to make a success of the government in Ekurhuleni.

Issued by DA Gauteng Provincial Leader Solly Msimanga