EFF suspends five councillors in Govan Mbeki Municipality for not having bakkies
The councillors received letters of suspension with immediate effect.
The EFF has suspended five of its proportional representative councillors in the Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) for failing to comply with the constitutional requirement of owning bakkies.
The councillors received suspension letters with immediate effect, pending their disciplinary hearings, which were held on September 26.
EFF Mpumalanga provincial secretary Jackson Malatjie confirmed the suspensions, saying they followed a resolution of the party’s third Central Command Team (CCT) meeting, held after the third National People’s Assembly in August.
“The CCT resolved that public representatives who do not have bakkies must be processed by the provincial disciplinary committee in terms of Section D(12) of the EFF Code of Conduct for caucuses and public representatives,” Malatjie said.
He explained that the provincial office, through verification, had identified several councillors who had not acquired bakkies, despite the party’s constitution requiring them to do so within six months of being sworn in.
ALSO READ: eMbalenhle community protest over alleged fatal assault by SAPS officers
“Their conduct was viewed as insubordinate, ill-disciplined and outside the prescripts and dictates of the EFF constitution,” Malatjie added.
The suspended councillors are Mavis Ntsibande, MMC for Revenue in the GMM, Wendy Masango, Given Seerane, Martha Nkuna, and Vusi Peterson.
According to Malatjie, some councillors argued that they had purchased bakkies after being sworn in following the 2021 local government elections.
However, the vehicles were later involved in accidents, and they were still awaiting insurance claims. Malatjie said the party now awaits the disciplinary committee’s report on the outcomes of the hearings.
