South African main opposition party Democratic Alliance Port Elizabeth mayor Athol Trollip addresses his supporters as they demonstrate in front of the city hall at a rally in his support on the eve of a motion of no confidence on March 28, 2018 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. (MICHAEL SHEEHAN/AFP/Getty Images)
South African main opposition party Democratic Alliance Port Elizabeth mayor Athol Trollip addresses his supporters as they demonstrate in front of the city hall at a rally in his support on the eve of a motion of no confidence on March 28, 2018 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. (MICHAEL SHEEHAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Athol Trollip has had to fight tooth and nail to keep his seat as Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, as both the ANC and EFF have been gunning for him in the last few months.
He survived a motion of no confidence tabled by the ANC in November 2017, but he’s now facing the same fate just four months later: The EFF isn’t on the same page with Trollip on land expropriation, and they are looking to disrupt the fragile balance of power in the Eastern Cape Municipality.
Trollip is certainly a man of immense political experience and he’ll need every crumb of knowledge to survive yet another assault on his leadership. We found out a few things about him that suggests he has the stones for battle…
Five fast facts on Athol Trollip:
He came very close to leading the DA
Back in 2007, he went head-to-head with Helen Zille for the leadership of the Democratic Alliance. He was rather magnanimous in defeat – saying that Zille was a “great candidate” – and vowed to return to the highest structures of the party.
Trollip took his chance a few years later, becoming the DA’s federal chairperson. He will be duelling it out with Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga this weekend to for the right to retain his position.
Trollip is the definition of local and loyal
He’s Eastern Cape through and through. Trollip was born in the town of Bedford, and has spent the last 16 years serving his home province: First as the DA’s leader in the region, then as the Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor.
Put it this way: He’s used to “firefighting”
You have to admit; jumping out of your car and grabbing a fire hose to douse a nearby blaze is pretty badass. Either that, or it’s a shameless publicity stunt.
Trollip divided opinion in 2016 when he raced to the scene of an inferno and handled the fire hose himself, alongside firefighters tackling the blaze. He jumped on Twitter to defend his actions, saying “it was in his remit to serve the public”.
Perhaps he’ll slide into his motion of no confidence vote via a pole, then?
Athol Trollip went an extra mile to understand disability
The Mayor is not afraid to get hands-on, is he? In this clip shared on YouTube, Trollip attempts to gain a better understanding of the issues facing disabled South Africans.
He once spent a day moving about via wheelchair only. That included limiting his movement with transport, and at public engagements…
Fly economy, or not at all
We really like this one. While he realises the need for officials to travel locally, Trollip sees no justification for flying business or first class at the expense of the taxpayer. He clipped the wings of all politicians in the NMB area as one of his first acts as Mayor in 2016, saying the public officials could only fly in economy.
Brave decision. Let’s hope all the flights they take come with “Athol protection“.
