Byline: Kelebogile Masemola

17 March 2022

Today, 17 March 2022 ActionSA announced Mr Hannes Coetzee as ActionSA’s Ward Councillor candidate for the Ward 96 By-Election in the City of Tshwane to be held on 5 May 2022.

Hannes has previously been elected as the Ward Councillor for this ward in 3 local government elections.

He has taken membership with ActionSA after recently resigning from the Democratic Alliance (DA).

His reasons for doing so have been clear, he believed that the multi-party coalition that came into office in 2016 would deliver change to his ward but he watched in disbelief as matters did not get better for the residents of his ward instead they regressed.

This ward that Hannes has served for so many years has been plagued by the ongoing Hammanskraal Water Crisis, unreliable supply of electricity and roads that are falling apart.

ActionSA president, Herman Mashaba says it’s almost like ward 96 has no government.

“As we stand here making this announcement, the residents of this ward have been without electricity for over 36 hours, and this is a common occurrence.

“People in these communities cannot sell their properties or live with dignity because of the smell of sewerage from the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant and you saw the conditions of these roads when you drove in here today.

“This is why Hannes has made the decision to join ActionSA, because he feels like the residents of this ward are going to be taken seriously under our banner.

“I was shocked to learn of how Hannes has tried since 2016 to ensure these issues are addressed by his own party; the fact that 6 years later, these issues remain unresolved, says everything that needs to be said about his decision. Herman Mashaba said. 

ActionSA will engage the multi-party coalition on Hannes’ request to ensure that these issues receive the due attention in the new financial year budget to be approved in May this year.

Herman Mashaba furthermore stated that Hannes’ candidature was another significant moment for ActionSA.

Hannes exemplifies that ActionSA is a party that cannot only take high levels of support from the ANC but also attracts people from across the spectrum in South Africa who are all driven by the need for action in their communities.

“In this regard, I am confident that Hannes will make an excellent ActionSA Ward Councillor with his track record of excellent service to his ward, said Mashaba.

Hannes is a trained artisan with a track record in public and civil service dating back to 1988 in which he has served as part of a team in Johannesburg that reduced water losses from 30% to 6% in the City

  • He has served as the ward councillor for this ward 96 since 2011
  • He has served as the section 79 Committee Chair for Community Safety.
  • He has also served in Community and Cluster Policing Forums in Temba, Hammanskraal, and Grootvlei.
  • as Deputy Chairperson of the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board Police Boards,
  • and in 2021 Hannes was conferred the title of Alderman, a title reserved for Councillors with the longest service to a municipality.

According to Herman Mashaba, during ActionSA’s public hearings into the Hammanskraal Water Crisis last year, Hannes was the only elected representative who came to the inquiry and made representations.

Hannes said he was overjoyed to join ActionSA and that he resigned from the DA for a specific reason.

“Today is a very emotional day for me but it is tears of joy because you know when you lose your passion for something but you link up with a group of people that actually put some more wood on the fire, you pick up that fire and you go.

“I’ve resigned for a specific reason because I believe in doing things right.

“I have zero tolerance for corruption, I believe that when there is no system in place then a system must be put in place.

“Even the ANC asked me to be their candidate, so number one, I will say it in short, I stand for zero tolerance in corruption,” Coetzee said.

He said he went for a top-secret clearance and he can say in confidence that he is the only politician/ward counsellor in South Africa with a top-secret clearance.

“I want to set an example to the rest of the world to say, don’t blame all politicians and say we are corrupt because we are not, we have the passion to serve the community,” he said.

He has made a commitment to the president of ActionSA and other leaders in the party that once he makes a move, he will serve the people.

“We will campaign night and day to win these wards so that they can build hope for South Africans that ActionSA can be a viable alternative to unseating the ANC in 2024.”