'This is not what I signed up for' - Abel Tau quits DA, joins Mashaba movement
Abel Tau on Thursday said that he had joined Herman Mashaba’s The People’s Dialogue and that he would also be part of his new soon to be launched political party in August.
JOHANNESBURG – The regional chairperson of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane, Abel Tau, on Thursday morning announced that he had resigned with immediate effect as a member of the party.
Taking to social media, Tau said that he had joined former Johannesburg mayor and DA member Herman Mashaba’s civic organisation, The People’s Dialogue. He also said that he would join Mashaba's new political party that is expected to be launched virtually on 29 August.
“Herman Mashaba is launching a party on 29 August 2020. This is my party as well. I want to work with a number of ordinary men and women in the City of Tshwane to win this city and restore it to its glory,” Tau said in a short video that he posted on his Twitter account. “I know we can do this task. It is a task that I feel we are up too, and we want to fulfil.”
Happy to announce that I’ve joined the People’s Dialogue and the new party which will be launched on 29th August 2020, led by @HermanMashaba pic.twitter.com/bzLYxf8Nbi
— Cllr Abel Tau (@AbelTau1) July 30, 2020
Tau, who also had a brief stint as the acting mayor of the City of Tshwane before it was placed under administration earlier this year in March, said that he was unhappy about the current state of affairs of the city.
“I know the potential that our city has, and it breaks my heart to look at what is currently happening,” he said. “I’ve seen people complaining about the electricity cut-offs that they’re having. Some cut off just because they have to be pushed to come and pay even when their accounts are not due. That is what is currently happening.”
In April, the Pretoria High Court Pretoria set aside the decision by the Gauteng provincial government to place the Tshwane council under administration. However, the administrators continue to preside over the metro’s affairs.
Tau said that in 2017, he left his “cushy job” to play an active role in the DA as a ward councillor. But he now regretted his decision to join the party.
“I left my job because I wanted to serve the residents of the city. Looking back, I realise that we are far from archiving that goal. As I look back, politics have taken centre stage and have become more important than serving the residents of the city. This is not what I signed up for,” Tau said.
Tau was among several DA leaders who joined Mashaba’s new political movement, including former DA CEO Paul Boughey and former Joburg chairperson and caucus leader, Funzela Ngobeni.
Last week, former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor also announced that she had joined the movement too.
Mashaba resigned as Joburg mayor in October 2019 and subsequently left the DA along with its former leader, Mmusi Maimane, after saying that the party had been taken over by “right-wing elements”.
