Azanian Residents Party, a newly formed political party that contested the local government elections on November 1, is fighting over a proportional representation seat which they had received after winning a ward in eMbalenhle.
ARP won Ward 20 in eMbalenhle and also secured a proportional seat in the council.
Mr John Mahlangu, the president of the ARP, told Ridge Times that he received a call from a municipal official to hand over his laptop because he is being replaced as PR councillor.
He went to the local Independent Electoral Offices to find out what was the problem because his name was first on the ARP’s candidates list.
“I was surprised when the IEC gave me a memorandum that says Mr Smanga Nkosi is the candidate at the top of our party’s list and he has been declared elected to Govan Mbeki Municipality as prescribed in item 18 of Schedule 1 of the Municipal Structures Act no 117 of 1998.
“It also states that because I ceased to hold the office of councillor in the municipality, I must be replaced by Mr Nkosi. I am considering taking legal action against the municipality and the IEC.
“My lawyer responded to the memorandum because their decision is misleading and baseless,” said Mr Mahlangu.
“We warned them that if they fail to provide us with the relevant evidence that Mr Nkosi was the first candidate on our party list and that I ceased to hold office as councillor in the municipality, I will have no option but to lay fraud charges against the IEC and the Govan Mbeki Municipality’s acting municipal manager, Ms Lizzy Shabalala,” said Mr Mahlangu.
The newspaper is in possession of a letter from Ms Shabalala’s offices in which response was given to the demands of Mr Mahlangu’s lawyers.
According to this letter, the municipality received a letter from the ARP on November 29, advising the municipal manager of a vacancy on their list proportional candidates’ list.
Ms Shabalala claimed to have acted in terms of items 18 and 19 of the local government Municipal Structures Act, 117 of 1988 and she has attached documents received thereto.
She also proposed that for further engagement, Mr Mahlangu should take the matter up with his party.
Documents attached to the letter to the municipal manager include a notice that Mr Mahlangu did not represent the ARP and that he had been dismissed on November 25.
The ARP executive resolved on the same day that Mr Nkosi replace Mr Mahlangu as ARP PR councillor.
However, Mr Mahlangu is accusing the municipality of meddling in his party’s infighting and of taking sides.
Mr Smanga Nkosi responded to Mr Mahlangu’s allegations by saying that the party decided to terminate Mr Mahlangu’s membership when he failed to attend a disciplinary hearing in November.
“I was number seven on the party PR list, not number one.
“Mr Mahlangu, who was our president at the time, called for a meeting before local government elections. In that meeting it was agreed that the people who obtained the most votes will be considered for a seat in the council chamber,” explained Mr Nkosi.
“Our president failed to get votes even in Azania informal settlement in Ext 22 where he gave people land on which to stay.
“Those people still didn’t bother to vote for ARP. Only residents of Ward 20 where I live voted for us and ensured us and that ensured that we obtained a proportional seat,” said Mr Nkosi.
Mr Nkosi also said Mr Mahlangu should stop claiming to represent the ARP because his membership was terminated and that is why he must be removed from the council chamber as ARP proportional representative.
He also said Mr Mahlangu resigned as ARP member last year and told party members that he was going to stand as an independent candidate for local government elections but he later returned to the party.
“He was forgiven and allowed to come back after his independent campaign failed before elections.”
