Assaulted Ekurhuleni DA councillors lay charges against EFF councillors
ActionSA’s caucus leader in Ekurhuleni, Siyanda Makhubo, said they would write to the speaker to subject the EFF and the speaker to the ethics committee to find long-lasting solutions to the impasse.
Kwatsaduza – Six DA councillors assaulted by EFF councillors during the ordinary council meeting on Thursday opened assault cases at the Germiston Police Station on Friday morning.
In an attempt to disrupt the council sitting, EFF councillors derailed the meeting from the beginning by shouting, ‘Racist! Racist!’ and alleged that Ward 112 DA Clr Danie Putter had made a racist statement to one of their councillors during a public event at the OR Tambo Government Precinct.
Putter was not in council and has since resigned from his position. DA chief whip Mike Waters accused the EFF speaker of the council, Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, of failing to control the meeting and failing to timeously call the council protection services to help diffuse the fight.
“Instead, she sat idle while her EFF thugs physically assaulted the councillors. Once matters escalated violently, the speaker abruptly adjourned the meeting and walked out, leaving the EFF councillors to continue the assault on the DA councillors unabated,” he said.
“When the protective services were finally summoned into the council chambers, the EFF turned on them, shouting, ‘Who authorised you to enter the chambers? We are in charge here’.”
Waters alleges this was the EFF’s stance to delay the council from voting for the Institutional Review Report to buy time to negotiate with the ANC to vote with them against the report.
“If the ANC votes for the report, the EFF might lose one of their MMC positions, and their plans to create more positions for their members will fail,” he added.
ActionSA’s caucus leader in Ekurhuleni, Siyanda Makhubo, said they would write to the speaker to subject the EFF and the speaker to the ethics committee to find long-lasting solutions to the impasse.
“The adjournment of council meetings results in fruitless expenditure, directly affecting the crippling financial system of the metro,” he added.
The council meeting was postponed to this week. We did not receive comment requested from the SAPS by the time of publication.
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