The Democratic Alliance Mayor of Tshwane, Cilliers Brink, was today toppled in a Vote of No Confidence. In his reaction, Neil De Beer, the President of the United Independent Movement, says this is part of the strategy of African National Congress Premier Panyaza Lesufi. “And this, if you look at it as a stick of dynamite and you put the fuse, I will tell you today the first fuse was lit in the Joburg Metro a couple of months ago. The second one is now lit in Tshwane and I predict the third one, it’s on its way to Ekurhuleni. It is my opinion, and this will have to be proved in the future, that no doubt Mr. Lesufi is putting his huge, huge card on the table for the national conference of the ANC in two years. I think you’ve got a faction rising.”
Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.
Watch here
Listen here
Extended transcript of the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Chris Steyn (00:03.537)
The Democratic Alliance Mayor of Tshwane, Cilliers Brink, has just been ousted. We speak to Neil De Beer, the President of the United Independent Movement. Neil, you messaged me to say it’s a shocker.
Neil De Beer (00:19.694)
Yeah, Chris, hot off the press, and exactly four minutes past one, approximately six minutes ago, I left the live streaming of the Council sitting of Tshwane, 120 votes for the removal of Cilliers Brink, just over 80 against, one abstention. It is a reality, as we predicted, Cilliers Brink is no longer the Mayor of Tshwane.
And this, if you look at it as a stick of dynamite and you put the fuse, I will tell you today the first fuse was lit in the Joburg Metro a couple of months ago. The second one is now lit in Tshwane and I predict Chris, the third one, it’s on its way to Ekurhuleni.
Chris Steyn (01:13.329)
So what is the strategy here, Neil?
Neil De Beer (01:16.812)
Well, the beating of the drum on the ground told me that still at the very last moment there was a scenario of a thinking from the ANC that they might be able to take the GNU down to GLU, Government of Local Unity.
I understand it was still on a knife’s edge, but I can tell you today that no doubt in the office of Mr. Lesufi, not in the office of Shell House, there is great cheering; there are definitely songs of victory – and this is, I think, the march of a man who is not at all adverse to doing anything but to get his way, to garnish power and he is now going to go for Gauteng.
It is my opinion, Chris, and this will have to be proved in the future, that no doubt Mr. Lesufi is putting his huge, huge card on the table for the national conference of the ANC in two years. I think you’ve got a faction rising.
Chris Steyn (02:31.143)
Well he clearly is 100% willing to defy the national GNU and the wishes of the African National Congress NEC. So he must have powerful backing at a national level, Neil.
Neil De Beer (02:46.818)
Well, what is shocking is the fact that you are sitting in a scenario where Mr. Lesufi, this is not the first time where he has brought up his major swords and rattled his blades. There’s been a couple of those occasions where he has actually so-called defied the ANC National Office.
But what was critical was a press statement this morning that came out that said, not Lesufi, not Gauteng, but that the members that were going to vote in the Tshwane municipality of the ANC received, and here’s the words, the blessing from the National Executive of the ANC to vote to oust Cilliers Brink.
Now, of this is important to know that people like us that are, can I say, a little bit connected within the mainstream, connected within sources, that we are sitting back and going, but are we living in a matrix? Ek bedoel waars ons Because, and I don’t blame the normal citizen of being a little bit in Afrikaans deurmekaar. I think we are sitting in a Smartie box, because we have a GNU. We have a definite Government of National Unity where the DA has not just claimed to be one of the constructors of the GNU, but in a grand coalition. Helen Zille.
So it would not be in any way to think wrongly that this is a problem because we were supportively thinking that we would have a GNU, can I call it a GPU and a GLU, Government National Unity, Government Provincial Unity, Government Local Unity.
But you can clearly see within Gauteng, hierdie ding is moer toe, they have definitely cut cabless omewhere there’s not a connector and this is not about national strategy. I’m telling you now this is a provincial rogue strategy of a Premier that has clearly said it’s payback time and today you could see on the faces of the councillors that were going to oust Cilliers that they could not wait. In actual fact the statement of one of the councillors, I think maybe the whip of the ANC, saying that we have been waiting since 2016 for this moment, this time, and we are patiently going to take it.
What kind of ideology, no matter the politics that you are in, divorces yourself in such a way that power has become so huge, such a main attraction, that we forget about the citizens at the end of the day? Koeël deur die kerk. Gras is gesny. Melk op the grond. This is what’s going to happen. Cilliers Brink now going into the opposition bench.
Chris Steyn (05:48.423)
Thank you. That was Neil de Beer, the President of the United Independent Movement, reacting to the ousting of Democratic Alliance Mayor Cilliers bBrink. Thank you, Neil, and I’m Chris Steyn
Neil De Beer (06:00.067)
Thanks Chris.
Read also:
