DA’s Cilliers Brink opens up about the bizarre political wrangling where the FF Plus sided with the ANC and EFF

Cilliers Brink, the leader of the DA in the Tshwane Metro, said he found it surprising that the FF Plus voted in favour of a report which it had petitioned against.

The issue concerns a controversial property development project on the Bowls Club grounds in Groenkloof, previously known as Pretoria Vriendekring.

The proposed development includes a shopping centre, an office complex, and a 12-storey apartment building with approximately 1 800 low-cost residential units.

The Groenkloof Residents’ Association opposed this development and highlighted numerous problems with the process and plans.

These concerns include increased traffic and congestion, and the capacity of existing municipal infrastructure, including water, sewer and electricity.

There will also be a loss of valuable green and recreational space, and it will impact nearby hospitals, care facilities, and surrounding residential properties.

There will be a cumulative effect of increased densification within Groenkloof, which negatively impacts the community.

In February 2026, the Freedom Front Plus joined forces with the Groenkloof Residents’ Association to oppose the development.

The two organisations held community meetings and gathered signatures for the petition, which they submitted to the Tshwane Metro Council.

The Groenkloof Residents’ Association also tried to get the report removed from the council agenda. However, it was not successful.

On 25 June 2026, the City of Tshwane Council approved the long-term lease of 2.422 hectares for the mixed-use development.

To everyone’s surprise, the FF Plus voted in favour of the report, which supported the ANC, EFF, and ActionSA’s vote.

People from the Groenkloof Residents’ Association and the Groenkloof Bowls Club told Newsday that they were flabbergasted by this turn of events.

Many viewed it as a betrayal by the FF Plus, as the party said that it supported them in opposing the development.

Cilliers Brink explains the DA’s position on the Groenkloof development

Newsday contacted Cilliers Brink about the Democratic Alliance’s position on the controversial Groenkloof development and the FF Plus’ strange vote.

Brink is the DA’s Deputy Federal Chairperson and the party’s mayoral candidate for the City of Tshwane.

He is also the former mayor of the City of Tshwane. He received many accolades for the improvements under his leadership.

He told Newsday that the DA voted against the Groenkloof report at the meeting of the Tshwane council on 25 June 2026.

“Councillor Shaun Wilkinson made it clear that there was widespread opposition in the community to the development of what is now a community facility,” he said.

“The report which the mayor placed before councillors did not reflect the views of the public, and so it was flawed.”

He added that there might be more suitable sites for development in the neighbouring Sunnyside, a community badly in need of revival.

Brink added that they were surprised that the FF Plus voted in favour of the report, especially because the party had driven a petition on the issue.

“I had spoken to Willie Spies and Grandi Theunissen the week of the council meeting, and the impression I had was that the FF Plus would stand with the DA in opposing the report,” he said.

Brink speculated that the Freedom Front Plus had campaigned on an issue which it didn’t really understand.

“Be that as it may, I am committed to working with the FF Plus to ensure that the ANC does not drive a wedge between them and the DA in future,” he said.