DA bemoans delay in debating vital council items

The DA has accused the speaker of the council in Ekurhuleni of delaying calling a council meeting to pass vital items that play a central role in setting out council work for the new year, thus impeding service delivery.

In a statement issued on January 8 by the opposition party, DA chief whip in Ekurhuleni Michael Waters said the outstanding matters include the metro’s council calendar, which serves as a foundation, guiding all council-related proceedings and formalising council work for the year.

Waters told this publication that usually the items in question are dealt with at least during the November council meeting. However, the November meeting collapsed after a brawl between EFF and the DA councillors.
He added that it’s now January, and the speaker has not even announced a date for the meeting to deal with the outstanding items.

Dispelled
The speaker, EFF’s Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, dispelled the claim that she is deliberately delaying the meeting, stating that consultations and preparations to have an extraordinary and monthly ordinary meeting have been underway since the council returned from its season recess on January 8.
“It’s only a few days since we returned to the office, but our preparations for the meeting have started and we are committed to holding it at least before the end of this month (January),” promised Tshivhenga.

Extraordinary meeting
According to Waters, Tshivhenga promised to call a special meeting to deal with these vital items last month, but nothing has happened.

Responding to this, Tshivhenga admitted that they had all committed to holding an extra-ordinary meeting to deal with the outstanding items on December 7, however, their plans did not come to fruition due to some compliance items that were still outstanding.

She said these included a delayed report from the Office of the Auditor General, which the office of the speaker had hoped would reach its desk at least before the 7th for the meeting to be held before the council went on the December holiday recess.
Tshivhenga pointed out that the office of the speaker has been in correspondence with all councillors to explain the reasons for the deferral of the meeting.

Infighting
Waters believes the delay is because of apparent political infighting within the EFF/ANC ‘government’.
“Instead, councillors are called to ad-hoc meetings to discuss matters because the EFF/ANC coalition government does not care about the millions of residents and the continuous collapse of the city.
“As the DA, we have written to the council speaker demanding an urgent extraordinary council meeting is called to pass the council calendar so that councillors and city officials can get on with the business of the day, which should be service delivery and looking after residents.
“We cannot allow service delivery to be paralysed while the infighting between the EFF and the ANC continues.”

Collapsed
“This festive season showcased the utter collapse of services across the city, with many residents and businesses left helpless without running water or electricity as the city seemingly ‘shut down’.
“The DA will not allow the EFF and the ANC to hold communities, the city and councillors hostage.
“The so-called peoples’ government has allowed the council to collapse through its inability to call meetings, allowing EFF councillors to beat and assault fellow councillors and collapse meetings while the DA fights against corruption and cadre deployment.”

The speaker refuted claims that the EFF\ANC coalition government is holding the city hostage and that the delays in holding the meeting have negatively impacted service delivery. She said there are measures put in place to ensure that public services are not compromised while the council is still working to address the outstanding matters, including the council calendar.

The speaker rejected claims that the city was during the festive season left without running water.
She said these claims seem too far-fetched because, while many councillors were on holiday during recess, she and some MMCs were working on the ground with HODs.
“The only water-related issues was about an area that was experiencing low water pressure, and that was attended to.”

Criminal charges
“As the DA, we have laid criminal charges against the EFF councillors, who violently assaulted DA councillors. We have also requested an investigation through the Ethics and Integrity Committee. We cannot stand idle while beacons of democracy erode away.”
On the other hand, the speaker of the council said: “It’s important to note that we are not condoning what happened in council in our November meeting.

“As councillors, we are expected to act or behave with proper decorum. Processes will be followed to address the issue of breaching the house’s rules of decorum.”
The DA threatened to escalate the matter to the MEC and minister of COGTA should the EFF not heed the opposition’s call for an extraordinary council meeting so members can get on with council business for all residents.

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