Mogale’s Speaker breaks her own rules
The meeting ended in chaos when the Speaker refused to allow any debate.
Councillors from the multiparty voting bloc, including the DA leader, councillor Jacques Hoon, were thrown out of the recent Council meeting when they attempted to ask questions regarding the Speaker’s inconsistent and biased rulings.
The DA councillors were not the only ones thrown out, however. Freedom Front Plus (FF+) councillors were also thrown out, after Amanda de Lange, councillor for the FF+, reminded the Speaker that she wants to approve decisions that do not comply with the requirements of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000.
At the 11th special council meeting, held on 18 January, councillor Noluthando Mangole, the Speaker for the Mogale City Local Municipality, presided over the council meeting in what the DA describes as “her characteristically authoritarian manner, denying councillors their constitutional right to express their views”.
Also Read: ANC sabotages another council meeting – FF+
The meeting ended in chaos when the Speaker refused to allow any debate or discussion on a legal opinion which the ANC had requested in order to overturn her initial ruling which favoured the voting bloc.
Mangole has once again fallen short of her legislative duties and continues to violate and infringe the rights of democratically elected councillors.
“According to rule 23: (1) ‘The presiding officer must demonstrate impartiality…’ which Mangole has consistently failed to do, taking cues from the ANC bench to change rulings.
The purpose of council is to engage and debate items on the agenda, and councillors are being denied their rights to gain clarity by her refusing their questions,” a statement from the DA reads.
The DA called upon Mangole to uphold the rule of law and to be consistent in applying the rules and orders of council.
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