Mayor holds on to job after mayhem in council chamber
“There is no harm currently, except for the conduct of the councillors.”
A second attempt at removing Executive Mayor Mhlonishwa Masilela from office has failed after today’s council sitting.
Today’s events were a continuation of Monday’s motion of no confidence meeting.
The gallery, filled with members of the public, sang as the ANC councillors entered the chamber, with many of the councillors joining in with the song and dance.
This utter disregard for council protocol delayed the scheduled start time of the sitting from 09:00 to 09:40.
During Council Speaker Thato Mathunyane’s opening remarks, ANC Councillor Ernest Nkwana raised his hand, Speaker Mathunyane then asked to begin the meeting in prayer.
This caused Cllr Nkwana to rise from his seat and proclaim that Speaker Mathunyane was ignoring his query. Other ANC councillors stood up in support of Cllr Nkwana, shouting at the Speaker in the process.
Cllr Nkwana, alongside other ANC councillors such as William Phetla, approached the bench, accosting the Speaker and Municipal Manager Mandla Mnguni.
Read more here: Motion of no confidence in Executive Mayor postponed
Security was called, with Speaker Mathunyane asking Cllr Nkwana and Councillor Sizwe Zulu to leave the chamber.
After several minutes, tensions lowered and the meeting resumed, with Cllr Nkwana and Zulu still in attendance.
Mr Mnguni resumed the assembly by stating that the venue may not be suitable for a meeting of this nature and that he recommends that the current sitting should be adjourned for security reasons.
Speaker Mathunyane urged the councillors to deliberate on a change in venues and whether the public should be allowed entry.
This caused an uproar among the ANC, with many councillors shouting at the speaker, “This is not your house chief!”
The ANC said that the public has caused no harm as of yet and that there has been no interference, they then questioned why Speaker Mathunyane was the chair of the meeting, as they felt Mr Mnguni should be in charge.
Speaker Mathunyane responded, stating, “There is no harm currently, except for the conduct of the councillors.”
Further chaos ensued, with many councillors leaving their seats as they rushed the Speaker’s bench yet again.
Amongst the mayhem, Mr Mnguni leaned into his microphone and said, “As advised by the Speaker, the meeting has collapsed.”
There is no current date set for the continuation of the meeting.
You can watch a video of the chaos below:
@middelburgobserver Chaos ensues as Middelburg Executive Mayor keeps job at motion of no confidence council meeting #politics #middelburg #mayor #chamber
