Johannesburg - “If it wasn’t so serious, it would be laughable”. This is how Gauteng DA MPL, Solly Msimanga, described the ousting of Mpho Phalatse from her mayoral seat.
The executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg was removed from office in terms of section 58 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 1998. But Msimanga said the fight is far from over.
“The DA, however, will continue with its court action to prevent the election of a new mayor and ensure that this railroad tactic by the Speaker and her allies is brought to a halt and sanity prevails,” Msimanga said.
Party leader John Steenhuisen said the ousting of Phalatse has destabilised the City of Johannesburg and slammed the move as “the ANC’s desperation to get their hands on tenders and contracts from Johannesburg’s R76 billion budget.”
He said the party firmly believes that what transpired in the council meeting today was “unlawful and unprocedural”.
“The sitting was little more than a sham and the Speaker, on debut, showed she is neither competent nor capable of managing a council meeting in the prescribed manner. Mayor Mpho Phalatse has been the target of a co-ordinated attack, not because she has done anything wrong, but because she has done everything right,” he said.
On the issue of coalitions, Steenhuisen said: “I give you my word today that the DA will never give your vote away to a coalition without a binding written agreement that ensures good governance and service delivery. Treachery will not stand. Subterfuge will not hold. And we will not succumb to the politics of extortion and blackmail”.
Meanwhile, new Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero yesterday promised the city’s residents that he has a plan to end load shedding after the DA’s Dr Mpho Phalatse was ousted.
Morero, who is the ANC’s Johannesburg regional chairperson, was voted unopposed to lead the country’s economic hub as its first citizen after nearly a dozen opposition parties succeeded in their vote of no confidence in Phalatse.
The ANC, which has the most councillors in Joburg, was helped by the EFF, Patriotic Alliance, African Independent Congress, Al Jama-ah, Cope, African Heart Congress, the PAC and African People’s Convention (APC) as well as Good Party to axe Phalatse.
The vote of no confidence in Phalatse was carried by 139 of Joburg’s 270 councillors and the IFP abstained while none of the councillors present voted against the motion.
Council speaker Colleen Makhubele, who was elected earlier this week, then opened nominations for the position of mayor.
”Only two nominations were received, with one found to be spoiled and non-compliant.
Good Party councillor Lloyd Phillips nominated Morero and was seconded by APC councillor Moloko Mpolobosho.
”If only one candidate has been nominated the person presiding must declare that candidate elected,” Makhubele said, declaring Morero the new mayor.
In his acceptance speech, Morero undertook to help tackle the electricity crisis that has hit the whole country.
”Joburg cannot continue to function in darkness when we have the experience of resolving this problem. We have done it before and we can do it again,” he promised.
Morero said his administration will have an energy sustainability strategy that will ensure the delivery of conventional power and integrate new distributed energy generation and energy storage facilities into the energy mix.
”The city must integrate new alternative energy sources together with the energy storage systems to reduce load shedding throughout the City of Johannesburg,” he said.
In addition, Morero assured Joburgers that the new energy mix is designed to relieve the pressure on Eskom and not make the situation worse.
Responding to her ousting, Phalatse vowed to continue fighting what she described as a corrupt cabal.
”We will fight for you, we will fight to see our city rebuilt again. We will not leave this to this corrupt cabal. What happened today was an injustice, was unlawful,” she said.
The DA announced that it will continue with its court action to prevent the election of a new mayor.
”We are just waiting for the courts to redeem the residents of Johannesburg from what has happened here today. We believe in our judicial system, we believe that justice will be served for our six million residents,” Phalatse said.
The ousted DA-led multi-party coalition will challenge the programming committee’s decision to schedule Friday’s council meeting as it was inquorate.
It also wants the notice convening the meeting to be declared unlawful, invalid, null and void and of no force and effect. Despite last-ditch efforts by Phalatse to remain in her post, failing, the embattled former mayor expressed her gratitude to Joburgers.
“I would like to start by thanking you for your prayers and messages of support for me and the Multi-Party Government, which despite the political events of the last month have still been hard at work, in order to ensure that the repair and rebuild of the City continues. This is not about me or political parties, this is about you, the 6 million residents of the City, who will ultimately suffer should this Multi-Party Government be dissolved through a motion of confidence in the Executive Mayor,” she said.
Phalatse’s spokesperson, Mabine Seabe said the party accepted the Speaker’s right to call meetings but questioned the call, on less than a day’s notice.
“Rule 55 of Council requires three-days’ notice for Ordinary Meetings. Although there is no such requirement for Extraordinary Meetings, the past practice of Council for at least six years has been to call Extraordinary Meetings on at least 3 days’ notice. Rule 6(2)(b) requires that the Speaker have cognisance of the established practice.