TSHWANE – Dr Nasiphi Moya has accepted the nomination as ActionSA’s Tshwane mayoral candidate.
In her speech, she highlighted what public service means to her because of how she grew up in rural Eastern Cape.
“I want to thank the Senate and the leadership and members for the trust you have placed in me. Serving as ActionSA's first mayor has been one of the greatest honours of my life. I accept this nomination and ask residents for 5 more years.
“I herded livestock and I helped at home. I watched my family work hard every single day to build a better future with limited resources.
“My parents had a spaza shop, we didn’t have maPakistanis running spaza shops in my village. We did not grow up with privilege, but we made do. We learnt early that hard work means little when opportunity never arrives,” she said.
Moya said her upbringing shaped how she views governance.
“Education opened a door that poverty had tried to close. It allowed me to imagine a future bigger than my circumstances. And that experience stayed with me because it shaped how I think about government and leadership. I believe government must create opportunity.”
She said no matter how hard she works, there needs to be a collective effort to make Tshwane work.
“But dear residents, no mayor and no government can rebuild a city alone. Progress depends on a partnership between residents and government, workers and businesses, investors and the city.
“This city won't build itself. Vuka Tshwane!”
“But Tshwane is not only built by the formal economy. It is also built by informal traders, township entrepreneurs and small business owners working every day to support their families and grow local economies.
“As part of our effort to support local spaza shop ownership, we introduced the Informal Trade and Township Economy Bylaw. We want informal trading opportunities to benefit local, South African businesses first.”