Nthabiseng Tshivenga has been elected acting speaker for the City of Ekurhuleni following the ousting of Raymond Dhlamini through a motion of no confidence that passed on Thursday.
Tshivenga, a member of the EFF in the council, will serve in the acting role until the council’s next meeting on Tuesday, where a permanent speaker will be elected.
A total of 139 council members voted in favour of the motion, which was brought by the Super Seven smaller parties aligned to the ANC. Seventy councillors voted against the motion.
Earlier in February, Dhlamini was removed from the top post and replaced with Tshivenga, however, the high court in Johannesburg ruled that he be reinstated. It found that the council sitting which facilitated Dhlamini’s removal was invalid and unlawful.
Ekurhuleni has been fraught with political wrangling in recent months. Earlier in February, former chief whip Khetha Shandu resigned on the eve of the sitting that sought to remove him. He cited “personal reasons” for his resignation.
“I hereby write to formally inform you of my resignation as the whip of council and a councillor of the City of Ekurhuleni due to personal reasons, and with immediate effect today, 1 February 2023. Thank you for the support I have received from my time in office,” wrote Shandu in his resignation letter.
The council sitting, where the motion against Dhlamini was expected to be carried over in the agenda, was concomitantly reconvened. However, Dhlamini walked out before the council concluded its business, leaving the municipal manager to continue overseeing the proceedings in his absence.
Dhlamini allegedly tried to delay the proceedings by adjourning the sitting. After many breaks, the councillors asked him to recuse himself and Tshivhenga was appointed to occupy the seat while ANC’s Jongizizwe Dlabathi emerged as the acting chief whip.
At the time, ActionSA chairperson Bongani Baloyi said Dhlamini was conflicted, as he failed to carry out the council’s agenda as mandated by section 139 of the constitution.
“Section 139 of the constitution empowers the local government MEC to intervene when a municipality is unable to fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the constitution or legislation,” said Baloyi.
“Dhlamini walked out of a special council meeting, where he was set to face a motion of no confidence, leading to a breakdown in the council meeting.”
Baloyi said despite the merits of the motion tabled against Dhlamini, it was his responsibility to “facilitate the democratic business of council”, and added that Dhlamini’s behaviour cannot be accepted.
“The inability of the municipality to pass important items, including the adjustment budget, now directly threatens the sustainability of the municipality and its ability to provide services to its residents.
“To make matters worse, this isn’t Dhlamini’s first time displaying this contempt for council decorum. A week ago, he attempted to block scheduling a motion of no confidence in him by summarily ending a meeting of the programming committee prematurely.”
Baloyi explained further: “The City of Ekurhuleni cannot be held to ransom by the undemocratic practices of its speaker, and the continued delays in council business by the DA-led coalition are further exacerbating existing service delivery issues in that city.
“There is a human cost to his dilatory tactics; the people of Ekurhuleni suffer most in the end. As such, ActionSA will formally write to MEC [for cooperative governance and traditional affairs in Gauteng, MEC Mzi] Khumalo requesting that he urgently intervene in the City of Ekurhuleni to protect the residents from further declines in the delivery of basic services.
“As a constructive opposition in the City of Ekurhuleni, ActionSA does not seek to destabilise the DA-led coalition. But, as a party that values the rule of law, we will ensure that no public official engages in the undemocratic conduct regardless of which political party they are from.”
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