Mpho Phalatse’s days as mayor numbered

Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse’s days may yet be numbered as the Democratic Alliance and the ANC battle to govern the metro.

Locks changed

When she reported for duty yesterday, she found her office door locks had been changed since her removal last month.

Johannesburg council Speaker Colleen Makhubele has also called an “ordinary” council meeting for today.

Ex Mayor

ANC Joburg regional chair Dada Morero – now ex-mayor after 25 days – said as things stand, Phalatse was the mayor, however, they were still weighing up their options based on the outcome of the court judgment.

“We are still in discussions with our lawyers and from there we will know what needs to be done,” said Morero.

He would not be drawn into answering whether they were confident about winning the proposed motion of no confidence against Phalatse on Friday next week. “We will see on Friday and we will make confirmations of those things. For now, we are focusing on the lawyers and the judgment.”

He said if they decided to appeal the court judgment, it would mean he remained mayor.

Johannesburg mayoral spokesperson Mabine Seabe said Phalatse was working to consolidate the multiparty government to ensure that they have the numbers.

Recently, DA federaAl council chair Helen Zille insisted the party cannot work with the Economic Freedom Fighters due to its views on white people.

Action SA

ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont said the coalition agreement ceased to exist when Phalatse and former speaker Vasco da Gama were removed. But they were of the view that the court ruling has put the coalition back into effect. “If there isn’t a government, then there is no coalition. The ruling has given the coalition a second lease of life,” Beaumont said.

He said the coalition in the metro will survive a few days until the ANC can sort out the legitimate procedure for removing them.

“The alternative is that we can take deliberate decisions about how we re-establish the majority in the metro and make sure the court ruling means we are in government for four more years.”

The DA and ActionSA have had several spats with each other after the ANC took over Joburg.

Beaumont said no matter how many issues they have with the DA, the residents of Johannesburg cannot pay the price for their disagreements.

“We have reached out to the DA; we are waiting for their response. The DA has been a party that refuses to work with other parties to establish the majority in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg.”

Political analyst Xolani Dube said it was still possible for Phalatse to survive the motion of no confidence against her next week.

“We are dealing with people who are calculating what they can get, so it is about bargaining and has nothing to do with the people themselves. In a scenario like this, nothing is stable because people are using what is happening as the lotto,” said Dube.

Dube said municipalities are becoming low-hanging fruit. “Most political parties are bankrupt and the only piggy bank they can loot is through local

government.”

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