Mpho Phalatse, the mayor of Johannesburg, says political parties' failure to win an outright majority in local government elections was a "gift" she hoped the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu wished for.
Two months ago, the city of gold was compelled to form a multiparty administration, a step Phalatse says moved the Tutu-envisioned "rainbow nation" closer to reality.
Phalatse made the remarks on Wednesday when he presided over a candlelight service outside Tutu's residence in Orlando West, Soweto. Tutu passed away on Sunday at the age of 90.
"I am extremely appreciative of our voters as we have just emerged from the polls, as they have bestowed upon us a gift in that none of us won an outright majority. As I consider it, I believe we are getting closer to the ideal of a rainbow nation.
"In Johannesburg, where we have been pushed beyond our comfort zones, we stand as a multiparty administration. We have been compelled to speak with folks we would not have spoken with otherwise, to seek consensus and to collaborate.
"I feel that the groundwork has been created for what will occur in 2024 as we prepare for provincial and national elections," she stated.
