ATHOL Trollip, the Eastern Cape DA leader, wants to be the next mayor of Nelson Mandela Metro (NMM).
Should Trollip, 50, clinch the mayorship in the 2016 local elections, then “truculent” ANC metro employees face the boot.
Trollip also confirmed for the first time that “factionalism” was starting to appear in the provincial DA.
He was speaking to the Saturday Dispatch after the shock election victory last week of popular Butterworth teacher and seasoned DA MPL, Vuyiswa Mvenya, as Eastern Cape DA chairwoman at the DA’s provincial congress in Jeffreys Bay.
Mvenya beat Trollip’s choice for the chair, MPL Edmund van Vuuren, by a majority of 75 votes (225 to 150).
Mvenya said of Trollip’s mayoral aspirations: “I am hearing this for the first time.
“I think it is a good thing because when we get a new metro (get into power) we will need people with expertise, who understand governance.
“Athol understands ANC, DA and South African politics and government, which is most important.”
However, she downplayed Trollip’s views on factionalism saying: “People have a different views. It doesn’t mean they are a faction.
“We are not a faction. We are exercising our rights. This is a democracy.”
DA deputy provincial leader Bobby Stevenson would support Trollip for mayor: “Athol is a no-nonsense leader who tells it how it is. He will make a big impact.”
Stevenson said: “We do have factions and if they start fighting it can derail your mission.”
In her speech to the EC congress, DA leader Helen Zille cautioned that control of NMM had its dangers.
She cited the fate of the “highly capable and head-hunted” NMM city manager, Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, who left office amid “veiled, sinister threats”.
Msengana-Ndlela had said she was threatened with “violence and the ultimate price that is paid by those who do not submit to majority rule”.
But Trollip told Saturday Dispatch: “When we win, there will be a large body of officials who were put in place (through) cadre deployment.
“If they are obstinate and truculent, they will have to understand that democracy means transition, and they might have to find a job elsewhere.” He said that serving as mayor “might be the ideal way of coming to the end of my political career, by serving government and not the opposition”.
He said of the provincial DA: “There are factions of disgruntled (members), but the difference is that we managed to keep our factions to a fringe element.”
lIn Wednesday’s by-elections in the NMM, the ANC lost Ward 42 (mostly KwaNobuhle) to independent Andile Gqabi, but retained Ward 46.
DA support in KwaNobuhle grew from 22.43% in 2011 to 28% this week. — mikel@dispatch.co.za
Trollip plans to be next NMM mayor
Should Trollip, 50, clinch the mayorship in the 2016 local elections, then “truculent” ANC metro employees face the boot.
Trollip also confirmed for the first time that “factionalism” was starting to appear in the provincial DA.
He was speaking to the Saturday Dispatch after the shock election victory last week of popular Butterworth teacher and seasoned DA MPL, Vuyiswa Mvenya, as Eastern Cape DA chairwoman at the DA’s provincial congress in Jeffreys Bay.
Mvenya beat Trollip’s choice for the chair, MPL Edmund van Vuuren, by a majority of 75 votes (225 to 150).
Mvenya said of Trollip’s mayoral aspirations: “I am hearing this for the first time.
“I think it is a good thing because when we get a new metro (get into power) we will need people with expertise, who understand governance.
“Athol understands ANC, DA and South African politics and government, which is most important.”
However, she downplayed Trollip’s views on factionalism saying: “People have a different views. It doesn’t mean they are a faction.
“We are not a faction. We are exercising our rights. This is a democracy.”
DA deputy provincial leader Bobby Stevenson would support Trollip for mayor: “Athol is a no-nonsense leader who tells it how it is. He will make a big impact.”
Stevenson said: “We do have factions and if they start fighting it can derail your mission.”
In her speech to the EC congress, DA leader Helen Zille cautioned that control of NMM had its dangers.
She cited the fate of the “highly capable and head-hunted” NMM city manager, Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, who left office amid “veiled, sinister threats”.
Msengana-Ndlela had said she was threatened with “violence and the ultimate price that is paid by those who do not submit to majority rule”.
But Trollip told Saturday Dispatch: “When we win, there will be a large body of officials who were put in place (through) cadre deployment.
“If they are obstinate and truculent, they will have to understand that democracy means transition, and they might have to find a job elsewhere.” He said that serving as mayor “might be the ideal way of coming to the end of my political career, by serving government and not the opposition”.
He said of the provincial DA: “There are factions of disgruntled (members), but the difference is that we managed to keep our factions to a fringe element.”
lIn Wednesday’s by-elections in the NMM, the ANC lost Ward 42 (mostly KwaNobuhle) to independent Andile Gqabi, but retained Ward 46.
DA support in KwaNobuhle grew from 22.43% in 2011 to 28% this week. — mikel@dispatch.co.za
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