DURBAN - Following the dismissal of Dr Makhosi Khoza by ActionSA, the party has started a process to replace her as an eThekwini councillor.
Khoza, who was also Municipal Public Accounts Committee (Mpac) chairperson, was fired by the party on Tuesday after it found her guilty of putting the party into disrepute.
Provincial party spokesperson Busi Radebe told the Daily News on Wednesday that Khoza’s dismissal was immediate, and since her party membership was terminated, she would no longer be able to continue as a councillor so the party would have to find a replacement for her.
Radebe said once the party has finalised its internal process it would announce the name of the person to replace Khoza.
Announcing her dismissal on Tuesday, the party’s national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the ActionSA’s senate resolved to terminate the membership of Khoza on the recommendations of its Ethics and Disciplinary Committee which met on Monday.
“Following a series of public outbursts in January, ActionSA instituted a disciplinary inquiry into the conduct of Dr Khoza, with charges including bringing the party into disrepute, deliberately acting in a way that negatively impacts the party and acting in a manner that causes disunity in the party. A disciplinary panel was convened, chaired by Advocate Gill Benson (former Acting Judge in the High Court) and prosecuted by ActionSA’s Western Cape Provincial Chairperson, Ms. Vytjie Mentor. The Ethics and Disciplinary Committee was unanimous in finding Dr Khoza guilty on all charges and recommending the termination of her membership,” read the statement.
Beaumont said in the 24-page report, the disciplinary panel indicated that Dr Khoza had not challenged the evidence placed before the panel, and it had no choice other than to consider the case in terms of whether the conduct of Dr Khoza could be excused, adding that in this respect, the panel found Dr Khoza to be prone to conspiracy theories, aggressive behaviour and even continuing with threats to damage the party’s reputation further.
“There is no reasonable explanation for her continued abuse of the party, which she purports to promote. As a high-standing member of the party, she disregards the reputational damage to the party, for apparent publicity and self-gain. Her loyalties do not lie with ActionSA and instead, lie with aspiring to grow her own political aspirations, at the great cost of her constituency and ActionSA,” it said.
Further to this, Beaumont said evidence before the panel demonstrated communication with ringleaders of a group of dismissed members from Soweto who had previously been found to have acted to deliberately destabilise the party. In this communication, Khoza and the ringleader of this group were found to be plotting to “deal with” party leader Herman Mashaba. This conversation took place in close proximity to a protest by these former members outside the City of Johannesburg Council chamber in which they can be heard chanting Khoza’s name.
Party insiders said Khoza’s sacking was long overdue after she apparently secretly worked with the ANC in eThekwini to prevent the DA’s mayoral candidate Nicole Graham, who was put forward by the coalition which included ActionSA and the EFF, from being elected. Although Khoza denied selling out, she refused to confirm or deny that she voted with the ANC, saying she was within her right not to disclose how she voted.
Her departure paves the way for a new Mpac chairperson and seat. In terms of the list that the party had submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission prior to the local government elections last year, the party’s provincial spokesperson Busi Radebe was number five.
The party got four seats, which means Radebe is in line to replace Khoza, unless the party has amended the list. Khoza had not commented on her dismissal at the time of the publication.
Daily News