Gauteng High Court rules in DA’s favour
Speaker of Council Raymond Dlamini is back in the office.
Kwatsaduza – Ekurhuleni Speaker Raymond Dlamini and his DA coalition government have survived another attempt to remove them from the driver’s seat in the metro.
On Monday, acting judge of the Gauteng High Court, Alan Dodson, ruled in the party’s favour that the removal of Dlamini and the tabling of the motion of no confidence without notice on February 2 were unlawful.
This came after the council meeting collapsed when Dlamini tried to prioritise the adjustment of the mid-term budget by the DA-led coalition over the motion of no confidence.
After collapsing the sitting, 126 councillors from the ANC, the EFF, IRASA, and the Super Seven – the ICM, the UDM, Cope, the PAC, the NFP, the AIC and the ATM – decided to continue with the meeting and voted Dlamini out.
: Mayor welcomes court ruling overturning illegal council meeting
The councillors elected the EFF’s Nthabiseng Tshivhenga as the acting speaker of the council. In handing down his judgment, Dodson said the decision to resume the meeting after it had been adjourned by the speaker was unlawful.
“Any decisions or acts taken under the unlawful decisions are declared to be unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid and are reviewed and set aside.
“The costs incurred by the applicants are to be paid by Dlamini, the DA, the Ekurhuleni council and the metro, including the costs of two counsels,” he added.
Celebrating the victory, Dlamini said he is happy that the court favoured them.
“We were forced to take the matter to court because we felt that some of the political parties in council are playing in the wrong territory.
“The only thing we are disappointed in is that the accounting officer, Imogen Mashazi, was not held liable financially.
“This would have taught others not to take wrong decisions and not be held accountable. We are back in the office and ready to serve the residents of Ekurhuleni,” he added.
Welcoming the ruling, mayor Tania Campbell said now that the court overturned the illegal outcomes of February 2, it is crucial that all political parties represented in council put residents first and allow the processes of council to take place at the next council meeting.
“The urgent business of council, which has now been stalled twice, will bring much relief to residents of the City, chief among them – the adjustment budget for much-needed service delivery,” she added.
