ANC forges ahead with bid to oust Msimanga

The African National Congress (ANC) in the greater Tshwane region will forge ahead with its bid to oust the city’s mayor Solly Msimanga.

https://twitter.com/TshwaneANC/status/1045192027804237824

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Msimanga stayed on as mayor after surviving two motions of no confidence against him last month.

The first motion had been tabled by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) which was disallowed because it had not been submitted properly.

The EFF could then have supported the second motion tabled by the ANC but chose to rather leave, claiming they would be heading to court. The ANC subsequently abandoned the council meeting.

In a statement on Thursday, the ANC said: “Our urgent motion of no confidence was filed in August 2018 and the ANC never had the opportunity to present this motion due to a collapsed council sitting as a result of a walkout, lack of quorum, and has, therefore, remained on the order book.

“Moreover, our urgent motion is not new but a continuation from the collapsed council sitting of August 2018.”

The ANC in the metro accused the DA’s “white caucus” on pressuring council speaker Katlego Mathebe to use Rule 19 and “anything and everything humanly possible” to dismiss the urgent motion of no confidence against Msimanga.

“The speaker of council was elected by council and not the DA alone, she is an office bearer of council or a presiding officer and she must use council rules and the South African Constitution and nothing more. Deviation from council rules and the South African Constitution will render her unfit and not proper to hold office,” the ANC said.

The party added that it has it on good authority that the speaker has been instructed not to allow the motion to be voted by secret ballot.

“The white caucus of the DA is worried that should the urgent motion be decided by secret ballot, Solly Msimanga may be easily removed,” the ANC statement read.

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