DA SECURES TSHWANE, EKURHULENI AND JOHANNESBURG MAYORAL POSITIONS

For the first time, the African National Congress (ANC) has lost control of all three metros in Gauteng.

The Democratic Alliance, the official opposition party on a national level, is now in charge of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg.

This follows the announcement that the DA’s Randall Williams has been elected the new mayor of the City of Tshwane and he was uncontested.

The party has also retained the speaker’s position when Katlego Mathebe was voted as the chief whip.

EWN reports that although the DA abandoned its coalition talks with other political parties and declared it was willing to take up opposition seats instead, it has now emerged as the biggest winner in the country’s metros.

Besides the three Gauteng metros, the DA has also bagged Cape Town.

The Mother City’s new mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has said that his office is busy reviewing the City of Cape Town’s homeless by-law.

The controversial by-law has been slammed by activists saying the proposed amendments would criminalise homelessness and increase the powers of law enforcement officials. This, activists say, will make arresting the homeless much easier.

Image credit: Democratic Alliance