Speaker of Ekurhuleni council voted out
Speaker of council Raymond Dlamini has been voted out of office after four failed attempts.
Kwatsaduza – The penny has finally dropped in the City of Ekurhuleni as the DA’s speaker of council, Raymond Dlamini, was voted out in a motion of no confidence on Thursday night.
By a show of hands, 210 councillors participated in the election, with 139 voting in support of his removal and 70 against it.
His removal comes after four failed attempts to remove him since January 26 at the first 2023 council sitting.
The EFF’s Clr Nthabiseng Tshivhenga was re-elected as the interim speaker of the Ekurhuleni council. This is after the court ordered that her election in the previous council meeting was unlawful.
The motion was tabled by members of the Super Seven that includes Cope, PAC, UDM, ATM, ACDP, the African Independent Congress and the Independent Citizens Movement, who labelled Dlamini as unfit to hold office and to be removed with immediate effect.
The new speaker is to be appointed on February 28 during an extraordinary council meeting where a mid-term budget adjustment will also be approved.
During the meeting, the ANC, EFF and the Super Seven blocked the mid-term adjustment budget, with 123 councillors voting against the approval and 84 councillors from the DA coalition voting for the adjustment.
Dlamini said democracy was at play, all processes were followed for his removal, and the councillors felt it was time for his term to come to an end and voted as such.
“I just have to accept the outcome and move on. As a minority party, this was expected, and it could have happened to any other party.
“I served council fairly, even under difficult times I delivered. Thus, all the councillors came to me to say this was not about me,” he said.
Dlamini added that, unfortunately, they could not deliver on all their promises in the short period they were given, but they will continue to serve in the interests of the residents of Ekurhuleni.
The newly appointed acting speaker, Tshivhenga, said she will lead the council by being impartial and ensuring that councillors can express themselves fully.
“We will also ensure maximum participation from communities and hold the mayor accountable,” she added.
Ntombela Siphumule Ishmael of the Super Seven said they are happy that their tabled motion succeeded and the speaker has finally been removed so that they can move on with the business of council.
He refuted the claims that they are used by the EFF and ANC for their agenda.
“We are independent members of council. Ours is to hold council accountable, and we will continue pushing that service delivery reaches our people,” he said.
