Joburg mayor Dada Morero has faced several motions of no confidence but has so far survived
Build One South Africa (Bosa) leader Mmusi Maimane has accused political parties in the City of Johannesburg of abusing the democratic privilege of voting out mayors through motions of no confidence.
He was reacting to the latest motion of no confidence against Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero, brought by his coalition partners in the government of local unity (GLU).
The parties who brought the motion are a group of minority parties – including Al Jama-ah, UDM, AHC and ATM – who call themselves the Minority Governing Parties (MGP).
These parties complained that under Morero’s tenure, Johannesburg has experienced one of its most difficult periods of administrative instability and service delivery collapse.
They also claimed that the mayor had diverted essential funds that could have been used to ensure that Johannesburg Water is able to ensure that taps in the city do not run dry.
While these reasons seem legitimate, the parties that brought the motion had also demanded that the mayor remove the MMC of community development and appoint Al Jama-ah councillor Thapelo Amad in his place.
One motion a year
Speaking to The Citizen on Thursday, Maimane said motions of no confidence must be regulated.
“Motions of no confidence are being abused in Joburg because they are not regulated. I am saying that there should be a law at the local government level that says you can introduce a motion of no confidence once a year, similar to the National Assembly.
“And the reason for that is so that politicians know that for that financial year they are committed to that government, otherwise you will have a mayor and an MMC of finance that tables a budget and then three months down the line they are gone.
“If you really want to move a motion of no confidence against the mayor of Johannesburg, you must do so because the municipality is dysfunctional. There are potholes everywhere and there is no service delivery, do it for that reason,” he said.
ALSO READ: Morero: Don’t be scared of Al Jama-ah [VIDEO]
How parties in Johannesburg operate
Maimane said parties are using motions of no confidence for political reasons and not because of genuine service delivery concerns.
“The parties in Johannesburg, and ActionSA included, are only interested in politics; they care very little about the people,” he said.
The DA has called for a dissolution of the council due to the current instability with coalitions. But Maimane said this is not a solution either.
“If you want dysfunction, dissolve council, then you will see. It will go to court and then we will have an election and then we will start talking about service delivery,” he said.
Mayoral candidate
Maimane said his party is still scouting for a credible and competent candidate who can become their mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg.
“We have made an open call and we will be engaging a few individuals because the choice in Johannesburg cannot just be [Helen] Zille, Dada and Kenny. We want somebody with credentials in business, we want somebody who has run a multi-billion-rand organisation because Johannesburg has an R89 billion budget, and we want someone who is educated and who is able to lead a strong administration,” he said.
ALSO READ: DA to table motion of no confidence in Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi
