‘ANC to blame for Mogale’s standstill’
The DA-led Mogale City council is as determined as ever to reverse the rot created by the ANC.
The DA condemns the blatant disregard for the Constitution of South Africa shown by the ANC Speaker in Mogale City, Patrick Naga Lipudi, who is refusing to convene a municipal council meeting.
DA Provincial Leader and Member of Parliament, John Moodey said adding insult to injury, the ANC West Rand then has the audacity to release a statement in which it laments “that council meetings have been halted and as a consequence crucial reports that ensure compliance with statutes governing municipalities have not been tabled, which will raise the ire of national and provincial treasury.
“This indicates that the ANC either doesn’t know that meetings have been halted because the ANC Speaker has refused to convene council meetings in terms of the proviso to section 29 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act or that it does know and the media release is in fact a direct rebuke of its own deployees in the council.”
The DA has made its intention clear that the meeting will include a vote of no confidence in the Speaker.
“The very essence of the refusal by the Speaker to convene a meeting to consider a motion of no confidence in the Speaker of Mogale City, speaks not only of a total misunderstanding of the powers and duties of a municipal speaker, but also of a self-help discretion, which the Speaker does not have.
“Either way, it is the ANC that has brought meetings to a halt, which in turn is making it all the more difficult for Mogale City to provide basic services and undo the absolute mess the ANC left behind when the residents voted them out of office in the recent local government elections,” Moodey said.
The DA-led Mogale City council is as determined as ever to reverse the rot created by the ANC and ensure that key service delivery areas are given the attention they so desperately need.
“While the ANC blocks meetings and sends out media statements in an attempt to shift the blame, the DA will take all and every measure necessary to ensure that the Speaker, without delay, convenes the meeting as was duly requested.
“The Constitution of South Africa imposes an obligation on officials to act reasonably and lawfully when exercising public power. The ANC Speaker would do well to remember this. The blatant ignoring of a demand from the majority of duly elected municipal councillors representing the electorate of Mogale City signifies his inability to adhere to and respect the core fundamentals of the rule of law.”
Moodey said Mogale City residents can rest assured that the DA will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to stop the ANC from wasting taxpayers’ time and money with its politically motivated delaying tactics.
“Since the August elections the ANC has shown over and over again that it cannot operate as an official opposition and only understands politics of disruption. This however has not stopped the DA from forging ahead and uncovering the shocking levels of corruption and maladministration in other municipalities, and it will not stop the DA in Mogale City either. ”
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