Former Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse. Picture: Neil McCartney
The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng has called on former City of Joburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse to retract her statement calling the ruling party “corrupt”.
Addressing the public on Wednesday on a plan of action to “save” Johannesburg following the ANC’s “unlawful” takeover, Phalatse said accusations of DA arrogance by other parties were a distraction from “the return of power of a corrupt ANC syndicate which now once again has its hands on the country’s biggest municipal budget”.
Phalatse was removed from office via a motion of no confidence last week and replaced by ANC’s Johannesburg regional chair, Dada Morero.
But the ANC is not impressed by Phalatse’s comment and called on her to publicly apologise.
“We have noted Dr Mpho Phalatse’s application and public rants. I think we’re not going to dignify those because I think she must know better that the council that was conducted was lawful and within the confines of the rules of council. The sooner she accepts the democratic outcomes, the better. In fact, we are of the view that whatever she’s trying to do, she’s not the one that is pushing this… the writing has been on the wall for some time that the DA coalition in Johannesburg has collapsed because of how they have mismanaged the city. So this has nothing to do with labelling the ANC, we must put it on record that we are calling on her to retract and apologise for calling the ANC corrupt. We want her to retract that statement and publicly apologise to the ANC within 48 hours,” ANC Johannesburg spokesperson Chris Vondo told eNCA on Thursday.
ALSO READ: New Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero apologises and promises to fix mistakes
However, the former mayor is not moved by the threat and has taken to social media to repeat the allegations of corruption.
“I don’t need 48 hours, the ANC is corrupt,” said Phalatse.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has also posted a poll on social media asking South Africans if the ruling party is corrupt. At least 10,892 people had voted on the poll at the time of publishing.
The DA has also approached the courts in a bid to challenge the removal of Phalatse as the mayor, arguing that Friday’s council sitting was unlawful and unprocedural.
“I will continue to fight with and for the people of Johannesburg, and the next round of that fight is our court application to have last Friday’s sham council sitting declared unlawful. We have been warned in the past that the ANC will not willingly give up access to its biggest cash cow,” said Phalatse during Wednesday’s briefing.
“The sitting, rushed through by the new speaker Colleen Makhubele in order to vote me out of office before a court could stop her, was irregular and unlawful and we are confident that the court ruling will soon confirm this view.
“We are also asking the court to set aside all decisions taken by the ANC’s Dada Morero since he was appointed Mayor. We hope to have that ruling within a week.”
READ MORE: Phalatse goes to court to overturn her ousting as Joburg mayor