Pretoria - Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa on Thursday used the debate on his State of the Capital Address (Soca) in the council to tear into the opposition, labelling them anti-transformation agents.
He quoted Albert Einstein to describe his detractors, referring to them as being stupid.
“Two things are infinite; the universe and human stupidity. But I am not sure about the the universe,” the mayor told the council.
During the two-hour debate of last week’s State of the Capital Address, Ramokgopa accused his detractors of being anti-transformation agents.
He went on to describe DA’s Darryl Moss as a councillor “perennially misrepresenting facts”. Moss had said Ramokgopa’s speech was loaded with empty promises.
The mayor also blasted DA leader in council Gert Pretorius as basing on rumours his accusations pertaining to the city’s Kgora Bakery in Soshanguve. Pretorius had claimed that the bakery was on the verge of collapsing.
The mayor said the only problem the city had with the bakery was that demand was exceeding supply.
One of the challenges the city was facing was its Reitumetse Car Wash in Mamelodi, where beneficiaries insisted on owning the project almost instantly, he said.
“The argument from the city is that it must incubate over time so that it succeeds. Before we conclude that argument, this is a conversation we must have. In fact, it was a point we made from the beginning.”
Those involved in the initiative were local car wash owners who operated on Tsamaya Avenue before the inception of the city’s initiative, he said.
Ramokgopa again took a swipe at Pretorius over his accusations about the lengthy construction period of the A Re Yeng BRT project.
He countered that the project was bound to be lengthy and would be completed over the next 10 years.
“We are making sure that we weave the city together. With regard to the fiscals we are unable to address this in the space of five years.
“Atteridgeville will only be able to see it in the next three years, and farflung areas in the next 10 years.”
He accused the DA of attempting to undermine the efforts made by the city during his tenure as mayor and failing to mount an argument against the work being done by his administration.
He also defended the city’s plan to have Parliament move to Pretoria by arguing that one of the most enduring legacies of the apartheid regime was the existence of the two capital cities.
Ramokgopa was responding to an argument by Azapo’s Mankoto Lesufi who was against the move for financial reasons.
The city has identified Fort Klapperkop as a suitable site.
The mayor said: “It is important that we bring the legislature here for the political reasons we have advanced. When we were making the argument in the State of the Capital Address, we were not making a financial argument; that’s a secondary debate.
“We have mounted a political argument and took it a step further by finding a site that is suitable from a planning point of view; that is suitable to the history that Fort Klapperkop represents.”
He also took on Lesufi on the burning issue of the proposed Valhalla mosque, which has divided the community.
Building of the mosque was an act guided by the Constitution to ensure that South Africa, not only the capital, created an all inclusive society for all who live in it, he said.
“People of various religious persuasions, including those who do not believe, have the right to practise the religion they believe in.”
He also lashed out at council members who tried to hide behind legislative processes to prevent the construction of the mosque despite numerous processes that had taken place. “If there is a sufficient critical mass of people who, for example, are of the ZCC denomination, and are located in Waterkloof, and if there’s a site which meets requirements, they are going to praise the Almighty,” Ramokgopa said.
Pretoria News