DA mayoral candidate for the City of Ekurhuleni Khathu Rasilingwane and DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis.

• DA mayoral candidate Khathu Rasilingwane claims the Ekurhuleni mayoral race is a two-horse contest between the DA and ANC.
• Rasilngwane pledged to grow the economy, fight corruption, stabilise finances, and reform the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) to restore public trust.
• DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis describes Ekurhuleni as a “gangster state”.

DA mayoral candidate for the City of Ekurhuleni, Khathu Rasilingwane, says the battle for control of the metro is a two-horse race between her party and the ANC.

Rasilingwane, who unveiled her manifesto, or “pledge”, for the Ekurhuleni metro on Wednesday in Boksburg, said the city couldn’t afford another five years of chaos brought about by small parties.

“The next government of Ekurhuleni will either be led by the Democratic Alliance or it will be led by the ANC.

“There is no middle ground, there is no shortcut, and there is no protest vote that will fix this city. Small parties have had years to influence government,” she said.

She said small parties had contributed too often to instability, coalition chaos, and political bargaining.

“Ekurhuleni needs a party that is serious about governing, one with a plan, with the courage to make difficult decisions, and one which will put the residents first,” she said.

Rasilngwane is a DA MPL in the Gauteng legislature and is the DA’s pick to become City of Ekurhuleni mayor.

The 2021 local government elections saw the DA’s Tania Campbell elected mayor. Since then, the leadership in that metro has shifted several times. Currently, the ANC leads a vulnerable minority government without an absolute majority.

To “get Ekurhuleni working for all”, Rasilingwane says she will grow the economy and create jobs, stabilise the city’s finances, crush corruption and enforce accountability, make Ekurhuleni safe, and deliver basic services sustainably.

The municipality and its metro police have been at the centre of several shocking allegations laid out by the Madlanga Commission into corruption in South Africa’s criminal justice system.

One of the most shocking allegations involves some Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officers allegedly operating as a criminal syndicate that used official municipal resources to carry out murders, kidnappings, and extortion. Acting metro chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi is at the centre of these allegations. He is currently on suspension.

Rasilingwane said the DA would “expand and reform” the EMPD, turning it into a credible policing body the public can trust.

She said:

She said they would also ensure that EMPS officers have enough vehicles, equipment and ammunition.

“We understand that local knowledge is essential in knowing where local crime hotspots are. So we will work with neighbourhood watches and community policing forums, to strengthen our arm,” she said, adding that they would partner with the police and the Border Management Authority (BMA) to strengthen by-law enforcement and ensure criminals face consequences.

“The whole of society must be brought on board if we are going to ensure that criminals face consequences. Together, we will fight for residents to feel safe, and for criminals to fear the law again,” she said.

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said Ekurhuleni was now the epicentre of what is known as a gangster state.

“Where every contract, every service, everything is corrupted, so that politicians and senior officials can steal millions and millions out of the city and their corruption is protected by gangsters who will murder to keep it quiet,” Hill-Lewis said.

He said these gangsters would use intimidation, violence, and murder, “anything it takes, to keep from being exposed”.

“What the residents see are the symptoms of this corrupt gangster city- broken roads, broken substations, broken water systems, broken finances and broken trust,” said.