Political party addresses the elephant in the room
With the Dada Morero of the African National Congress taking his new position as the Mayor of Johannesburg, Morero welcomed his members of mayoral committee on October 8.
A week after the Executive Mayor of Joburg Dr Mpho Phalatse was ousted in a motion of no confidence, former coalition partner Action SA was one of the parties that were vocal about some details that led to the downfall of the coalition in the City of Johannesburg.
During a media briefing at the City Lodge Hotel in Sandton, Action SA representatives, Bongani Baloyi, Michael Beaumont, Funzi Ngobeni and Lerato M-Ngobeni addressed what will most likely happen after breaking from the coalition in Johannesburg from their view.
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“I think tensions in any coalition will be a prominent currency, it will always be there, but members are able to persuade each other and find each other. The issue is not about sustaining a party; it’s about sustaining the agreement as a union,” said Baloyi. “The key part of managing a coalition is what do you do when you have lost? Do you create stability, or do you create a mess? From our side we have accepted the handover and empowered those that will be in power.”
The start to an end in the multi-party ruling system began in early September when the majority of the members passed a vote of no confidence against the coalition speaker, Vasco da Gama which was supported by the ANC. With a vacant spot, Action SA, suggested on having a speaker from the IFP which led to dispute with other political parties.
“We agreed to have Alex Christians from the DA as the new speaker, but we PA did not support that decision. In a meeting organised by the DA, the members proposed on having an IFP candidate,” said Ngobeni.
Colleen Makhubela from Cope was declared as the new speaker.
“We are hoping that this benefits the people more than those who will be in power,” said Beaumont.
