Questions over DA cand idate

LOCAL government is regarded as the sphere closest to the people for service delivery, and the people in charge of municipalities play a critical role.

Political parties are hard at work to convince the electorate to vote for their candidates in the upcoming local government elections.

The DA’s mayoral candidate in Midvaal, Peter Teixeira, finds himself with the monumental task of convincing voters that he is the right man for the job. At least three people have told the Sunday Independent that he has been reshuffled three times for failure to deliver services in the last five years.

In 2016, he was appointed as MMC for development and planning, in 2017 to 2018 as MMC for engineering, and in 2021 as MMC for community services.

Resident Teffo Khoali, said Teixeira had failed to deliver services as an MMC, and he didn’t think he would be able to do anything better as a mayor.

“He could not deal with the issue of illegal electricity connection in Sicelo. Walking has become hazardous for us, and we are constantly dealing with power that goes off due to the connections. There is rubbish strewn all over the place. He led those departments responsible for delivering services but did not,” he said.

“Being reshuffled three times in the space of five years should be a red flag. I don’t see him improving and taking care of the people that need service delivery. His attention will go to the suburbs while those in the townships continue to live in squalor,” he said

Another resident, Bongani Nhlapo from Ward 8 in Sicelo, said he went to prison for eight years, and when he came out, nothing had changed.

“We are just asking for serviced stands, and we will build for ourselves. We don’t have electricity and have to rely on illegal connections,” he said. Nhlapo stays in an area of Sicelo where at least five shacks share a single toilet and have to get water from communal taps.

He said the government doesn’t appear to care about them.

“The Midvaal government doesn’t care about us. Our ward councillor has never done anything for us as a community. The last time we saw the councillor was April, and before that, we had only seen the ward councillor in 2020,” he said.

A member of the Midvaal council told the publication that the residents were right with regard to Teixeira’s failure. The member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said outgoing mayor Bongani Baloyi had reshuffled him because he was failing in each portfolio he was put in.

Teixeira this week denied that he was reshuffled for failing to deliver. He said he had been promoted three times in the last five years.

“My timeline of progression and succession, I believe, speaks for itself. In 2016, it was Mayor Baloyi that first appointed me as MMC for development and planning. In the short period I was there, the team I led was

able to accomplish a lot. In 2017/18, I was appointed as MMC for engineering, where I was able to relentlessly put pressure on the Department of Human Settlements to deliver more than 250 RDP houses in the Sicelo/ Nkandla area,” he said.

“I was not reshuffled three times, I was promoted laterally three times and also acted as acting mayor for a long period, which was a privilege and a great setting to gain experience and insight on an executive-level politically and administratively. With every role allocated by Executive Mayor Baloyi, he saw me fit to allocate more responsibility in both the amount and level of complexity of work,” he added.

Teixeira said residents had the right to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction at the level of service they received from the local authority, but they should judge him fairly.

He said when he was in charge of the engineering department towards the end of 2017/18, his top priorities were to ensure that the promise of an administration that provides standardised services was realised and that he provided additional motivation and assistance in ensuring that the building of capital infrastructure projects, particularly in townships such as Sicelo, Savanna City and other townships, was delivered on time and within budget.

Attempts to get a comment from Baloyi were unsuccessful. The DA’s Gauteng leader, Solly Msimanga, defended the party’s choice to field Teixeira as its mayoral candidate.

“In the case of Midvaal, eight applications were received. Four of these were deemed to have not fulfilled the minimum requirements. Of the remaining four, only three made it to the interview phase, and Peter Teixeira was the clear and unanimous choice of the panel and subsequently endorsed by the federal executive,” he said.

“Peter has indeed served on three different portfolios over the past five years. This has given him a good overview of the functioning of the municipality. Peter has performed extremely well wherever he has been allocated. In development and planning, Peter oversaw the transition of the department into a more electronic environment, with the red tape being slashed and response times to queries dropping significantly.

“In his time at engineering, Peter oversaw numerous projects, including the Risiville substation, Sicelo substation, and the Daleside Reservoir. With the retirement of the executive director of engineering services, the department required a steady hand during its transition to a new head of department, and Peter oversaw this transition,” he said.

Msimanga added that with the advent of Covid-19 and the increased focus and reliance on the social services portfolio, Teixeira was moved to the social services department due to his acumen, ability, and potential.

“While in this portfolio, Peter has overseen the roll-out and subsequent expansion of the various vaccination sites in Midvaal. Increased focus and investment in crime monitoring and prevention has seen a strong relationship being built with local community patroller groups and community police forums. This certainly proved to be well-placed during the July unrest when Midvaal’s neighbouring municipalities saw substantial damage, yet similar acts were prevented in Midvaal,” he said.