DA petition to remove Maile will fail, says expert
''In our country, we do not have a culture whereby leaders yield to pressure that comes through petitions. It will not be taken seriously."
It will be very difficult for the DA to remove Gauteng local government MEC Lebogang Maile through a petition.
This was because South African government did not have a culture whereby leaders yielded to pressure from petitions, according to political analyst Ralph Mathekga.
Mathekga made this comment after the DA on Friday launched an online petition calling for Maile’s removal.
Mathekga said the Gauteng provincial government, which has been called on by the DA to remove Maile, “will not take the petition seriously”.
“The conflict between the ANC provincial government and the DA in Tshwane is a stark example of the failure of co-operative governance,” Mathekga said.
“The provincial government is supposed to assist the municipality before it can hastily collapse the council.
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“My fear is that this situation is the future of municipalities, whereby there will be more conflict with the provincial government. Sadly, at the end service delivery grinds to a halt.”
Mathekga said the upcoming 2021 elections would be vital for the future of Tshwane residents.
“Resident should vote carefully – this is the only solution. Residents should also organise themselves through community forums and engage the municipalities.”
By Monday morning, about 3 949 people had signed the DA’s petition.
Two high court judgment appeals ruling in favour of the DA applied for by the provincial government are due to be heard by the supreme court of appeals.
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Randall Williams said the court appeals in place were prompted by Maile.
“Enough is enough,” said Williams.
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“The ANC’s MEC has played with the livelihoods of the residents of Tshwane for far too long – wasting taxpayers’ money by trying to win back power through the back door and denying residents critical service delivery.
“His illegal decision to place the city of Tshwane under administration is nothing but a poorly disguised attempt to take back, undemocratically, what the ANC had lost at the ballot box.”
By the time of going to print, the provincial government had yet to respond to Rekord’s query on the matter.
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