Speaker denies public access to council meeting
Threats by ANC members to protest the election of Mayor James Nxumalo as ANC chair at this week's council meeting forced Speaker, Logie Naidoo to bar the public from entering the meeting.
eTHEKWINI council, Speaker Logie Naidoo attempted to prohibit the public from entering the open meeting of council on Wednesday after threats were received from disgruntled ANC members who threatened to protest the election of Mayor, James Nxumalo as ANC eThekwini chair.
The City Hall precinct was completely closed to the public. DA caucus leader, Councillor Zwakele Mncwango, in a media release said in terms of rules of order by-law under section 7(2), the public may not be excluded for any reason from meetings in which budgets and by-laws are tabled.
Both the Amended Budget and the proposed Stormwater By-law appeared on Wednesday’s agenda, making it illegal for the public to be barred from attending the meeting. The DA, using the rules of order, forced the Speaker to open the doors of City Hall and allow the public in. According to Mncwango, the initial decision was made to protect ANC leaders from an embarrassing protest by their own members, and completely disregarded the Rules of Order of Council and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
“This is another example of how the city’s priorities have been amended while ANC’s councillors battle for control of the eThekwini region, and the municipality. All week, ANC members have been protesting in the City. Prior to that, the executive committee had been repeatedly postponed while its members caucused and campaigned,” he said.
