Johannesburg - The Congress of the People (Cope) in Tshwane has warned the multi-party government that removing the Speaker of Council through a motion of no confidence would plunge the city into a state of chaos.
This comes after indications from some on the multi-party government that a motion of no confidence was on the cards for the Speaker of the Council, Mncedi Ndzwanana.
Ndzwanana assumed the role of Speaker after the post was left vacant by the former mayor of Tshwane, Murunwa Makwarela. Makwarela was pushed to the position of mayor after serving as Speaker but resigned as mayor of Tshwane after fraud allegations.
Cope councillor Ofentse Moalusi slammed the DA, saying: "The blatant hypocrisy of the DA is that, where it suits them, they are advocates for a restricted number of motions of no confidence in other municipalities where they do not have the majority to govern.
“Their trigger-happy approach to Tshwane is mind-boggling and in contradiction to Mayor Brink’s lip-service acceptance speech about wanting to stabilise the city and unify all parties. The hypocrisy was also observed in how they disregarded the stability of the city of Ekurhuleni and frustrated the process of handing over power to the government of the Local Unity Coalition," Moalusi said.
He said Cope would reject the motion of no confidence against the Speaker of Council.
"As a representative of the Congress of the People in the City of Tshwane, I will not support this attempt to further destabilise the political leadership of our city. We will vote against this motion. God bless this city and her people," Moalusi said.
Moalusi urged the multi-party coalition to allow democratic processes to run and work with all elected leaders in the municipal council.
"We can now assert with clarity that the white-dominated parties have a problem handing over power when they are democratically defeated. Ekurhuleni and Mogale City are just some of the examples of this, where the DA planned to cling onto power at all costs despite having no majority in Council," he said.
Moalusi said he had informed the new mayor of Tshwane, Cilliers Brink, that the opposition bloc would ensure that the coalition sticks to its mandate for the residents of Tshwane.
"In my congratulatory speech to Cllr. Brink, I promised to hold him to account where he fails to lead. I will not support a leadership that fails to hold a dequrum of the office that it leads. It is disturbing to observe, also in the media, the continued attacks by Cllr. Brink on the elected Speaker of Council in Tshwane.
“The continued attributions in the media by Cllr. Brink towards the Speaker of Council that, 'he is a puppet of the ANC/EFF coalition' is an indication of a leader who does not respect his office and the people of Tshwane. A leader who is not aware of where he is in his leadership journey.
“His responsibility now is to lead and unite all councillors in the chambers as the Executive Mayor, not to be a leader of the DA. This is the first account that I have of Cllr. Brink; 'first test' and he has failed dismally," he said.
The Star