Ekurhuleni council meeting in session Picture: The Citizen
ActionSA Ekurhuleni caucus leader Siyanda Makhubo said opposition parties had petitioned the Speaker of Council Nthabiseng Tshivhenga to hold another council meeting on Friday to vote on a motion of no confidence against proxy mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana.
The motion of no confidence was supposed to be debated on Tuesday but several delays and additional items to council agenda delayed the debate.
“Our motion of no confidence is no longer about removing the puppet mayor who is clearly being protected by his handlers, the EFF, but rather an existential fight to save Ekurhuleni,” Makhubo said.
According to Makhubo despite more than 100 signatures compelling the Speaker to hold a council meeting on Friday. The Speaker had refused.
“We are consulting legal for the City Manager or MEC for Cogta to come and preside,” he said.
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Makhubo said the motion of no confidence had become urgent because the City of Ekurhuleni was on the brink of collapse. This was further worsened by the poor audit outcomes of the Auditor General concerning the municipalities’ finances.
“The City Manager admitted for the first time that the delayed Auditor General Report was a regression from last year, as it is an unqualified audit with serious findings against Ekurhuleni’s procurement processes,” Makhubo said.
The Citizen understands that ANC caucus meetings that were expected to take place on Thursday were cancelled. The DA had accused the ANC and EFF of negotiating and using delaying tactics to find each other in the negotiations.
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The ANC in Ekurhuleni had expressed unhappiness with the current coalition and was expected to vote with the opposition against the mayor.
Sources close to negotiations between the EFF and the ANC said Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi was playing a critical role in the coalition arrangements in Gauteng.
The ANC national had expressed a different view on the coalitions in Gauteng with president Cyril Ramaphosa saying the party should not be in dysfunctional arrangements.