City of Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse has accused council speaker Colleen Makhubele of harming the integrity of the city.
Briefing the media on the mayorship battle and the latest developments in the city on Thursday, Phalatse, who has just survived another day at the helm, said the last two months had been a volatile time after former speaker Vasco da Gama was succeeded by Makhubele.
According to Phalatse, Makhubele has diminished the integrity and “functioning legislative arm of the city”.
“Over the last two months, Joburg, the country, and the world have seen the removal of the speaker of council, councillor Vasco da Gama, in a process that was characterised by very serious allegations of vote-buying that were reported to the South African Police Service for investigation,” said Phalatse.
“That was followed by the election of a speaker who with every sitting collapses the integrity and functioning of the legislative arm of the city solely to meet narrow and underhanded goals.”
Phalatse said the people must remember that politics are a legally regulated space, noting that they are required to never lose sight of it, otherwise they would be advocating for a state of disorder.
She added that her administration is aware that another motion of no conference in her leadership is being cooked up and that talks are under way with other parties to secure numbers.
“While we have staved off another motion of no confidence, which failed to take off due to its legal inadmissibility before council, we are aware that another such motion is already being cooked up.”
She blamed the speaker for delays in service delivery, saying her administration had begun its work to restore good governance and service delivery but was distracted by the mayorship battles.
She also accused the speaker of sidelining important issues which were supposed to be on the council’s agenda, allegedly saying they are “not urgent”.
“The biggest challenge we face now is the speaker who is overreaching and blocking the work of the executive,” Phalatse said.
In September, Phalatse was succeeded by the ANC’s Dada Morero after she was removed through a motion of no confidence. Over a week ago, the embattled mayor was reinstated to her position after the high court in Johannesburg ruled that her removal was unlawful and invalid.
Another special meeting, where she was supposed to be removed again, was scheduled for this afternoon, however, it has since been taken off the council’s agenda.
Sunday World understands that although Phalatse may be safe for now, the ANC has not given up and is expected to table another motion before the end of November.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
