MBOMBELA – The DA’s caucus leader stormed out of a council meeting on Tuesday, after the Speaker would not permit him to speak.
The opposition’s leader, Mr Jo Koster, presented his planned statement to the Office of the Speaker Ms Jesta Sidell earlier this week. During the meeting she refused to let him and two other representatives of his party make their statements.
She told Koster she had not approved his statement. She directed that the secretary responded to the statements. She ordered him a number of times to sit down, but he refused, telling Sidell, “Madam Speaker, you are totally out of order”.
He started speaking, but Sidell responded with, “I will not recognise you unless you are speaking to yourself”. The clapping from other councillors drowned out Koster’s words and eventually he stormed out angrily.
In January, the entire DA caucus also left an ordinary meeting after the executive mayor Cllr Sibusiso Mathonsi announced that he, would investigate the alleged misconduct of the municipal manager Mr Noko Seanego.
Seanago was charged with fraud in the local court, pertaining to the appointment of 24 specialised security officers at the time. The charges have since been scrapped from the court roll, pending further investigation.
The mayor’s investigation concluded that Seanego was not guilty of any misconduct. The DA’s Mr Werner le Grange then submitted questions about the matter to council.
These were addressed on Tuesday when the municipality said the appointees were required not to have criminal records, but were not screened for this prior to being appointed.
On Tuesday, in response to an enquiry from Hazyview councillor Mr Ken Robertson, Sidell explained that Koster’s statement touched on matters which called for a response from the executive, and since member statements are not debated in council she would not accept his statement.
Lowvelder has not seen his proposed statement.
