Note to Editors: Please find English and Afrikaans soundbites by Ald Cilliers Brink here and here
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane calls on Mayor Nasiphi Moya to break her silence on the attempts by the ANC in the Tshwane Metro to remove Johann Mettler as municipal manager.
Mettler is not affiliated to any political party. He has, to the best of our knowledge, been unwilling to withdraw the city’s case against compromised officials who awarded an irregular tender to an ANC backer Edwin Sodi and his associates.
We believe that the ANC wants to get rid of Mettler and replace him with a deployed cadre in terms of the party’s unconstitutional practice of appointing politicians into non-political government jobs. Cadre deployment is a key enabler of corruption and state capture.
On 3 July 2025, the DA wrote to Mayor Moya warning that the attempt to cancel Mettler’s contract or to place him under undue pressure to resign would be unlawful. This followed a series of attacks by the ANC on the validity of Mettler’s appointment.
Although Mayor Moya acknowledged my letter, she declined to state her own position, only referring to engagements with the Gauteng MEC for local government, Jacob Mamabolo.
It is important to note that MEC Mamabolo has not formally questioned the validity of Mettler’s appointment (which happened in September 2022). He has queried the recent appointment of a senior manager, Gardner Tefu. But the ANC is using the Tefu objection as a pretext to move against Mettler.
This week the SA Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) joined the attack on Mettler. SAWMU members are distributing an infographic, identical to one distributed by the ANC, calling for Mettler’s removal.
It is clear that the ANC is now drawing SAMWU, an affiliate of the ANC alliance partner Cosatu, into its fight to replace Mettler with a deployed ANC cadre.
This is not only an attack on the integrity of the Tshwane city administration, including the authority of the city manager as employer representative, but also on the democratic mandate of the municipal council.
Where in the world is a politically affiliated trade union allowed to call for the removal of a public sector manager who doesn’t share its political affiliation? We demand to know why the mayor not made her own position clear.