Msimanga survives motion of no confidence
Following the ousting of Athol Trollip in Nelson Mandela Bay there has been no repeat luck for the ANC in the capital.
City of Tswane Mayor Solly Msimanga walks the streets of Pretoria ahead of a no confidence motion, 30 August 2018. Picture: Cebisile Mbonani
Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga has survived the ANC’s motion of no confidence against him on Thursday.
Crucially, the EFF abstained from voting following the party’s failed attempt to bring a motion against the mayor last month.
The ANC wanted the motion to take place via secret ballot, which the DA strongly opposed.
Earlier this month, a report emerged that an “EFF leader” revealed their party never really had any intention of following through on their motion on no confidence against the DA’s Tshwane mayor.
Speaking anonymously, he told the paper they had merely been reminding the DA that they were not governing without the support of other parties, but they had no intention of letting the ANC take over in the capital city.
The DA refused to support any candidate for mayor other than Msimanga, which was what the EFF was demanding.
The EFF leader was quoted as saying the EFF was “not in the business of removing that guy. If we wanted, we would have removed him.”
It was therefore unlikely that they would seriously support further attempts to boot the mayor, which has now been proven correct. Msimanga, for his part, remained very confident about his position.
The report added to speculation that the EFF actually deliberately scuppered their own motion last month by submitting it improperly. It was subsequently disallowed in council. The EFF could then have supported the ANC’s motion against Msimanga, which was properly submitted, but chose to rather leave, claiming they would be heading to court.
It left many scratching at their heads in puzzlement after many analysts were convinced Msimanga had had no hope of survival.
However, the EFF leader said they couldn’t vote for an ANC mayor, as even ANC members were lobbying them not to support the ANC’s candidate, regional chairperson Kgoshi Maepa.
“How do you vote for a party which can’t get its own house in order?” the EFF top man said.
The only likely non-ANC candidate for mayor in Tshwane if the EFF were to remove the DA coalition that also includes the Freedom Front Plus, Cope and ACDP, would have been a lone councillor from the PAC.
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