Mpho Phalatse’s removal engineered by Patriotic Alliance

Former City of Joburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse says she will not resign from the Democratic Alliance (DA) following her ousting yesterday.

This is after the DA coalition partners accused the party of not supporting her.

“The DA is a very big organisation and yes, I do have a lot of support from the DA,” said Phalatse.

Her removal appeared to have been engineered by the Patriotic Alliance (PA), who had initially said they would vote for Phalatse in exchange for two MMC positions in the Joburg metro and some of the MMC positions in the Ekurhuleni metro.

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‘They can go to hell’

PA leader Gayton McKenzie said there was never an agreement between them and the DA for a coalition.

“How can I betray white people against black people. I am voting with my people. I have no agreement with the DA, they can go to hell,” McKenzie said.

Following horse trading behind closed doors, The Citizen was reliably informed the minority parties had reached an agreement to field Thapelo Amad from Al Jama-ah as their preferred candidate for mayor.

Temporary mayor

Former mayor and ANC regional chair Dada Morero said the negotiations agreed in principle a temporary mayor from the minority parties would be fielded until the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) reached a coalition agreement.

“We don’t know how long it will be, it could be in February or in March,” Morero said.

He said an agreement was reached in the past between the ANC and EFF in Johannesburg council but the hanging issue has been in Ekurhuleni.

There have been rumours that some in the ANC do not want Morero to be the mayor.

Morero said he does not know about the allegation, however, the ANC had resolved and closed the selection of mayors in November 2021.

“I was number two in the list of those who have been interviewed, which means I am a candidate of the ANC until the end of this term,” he said. “Whether you like it or not, the ANC has a candidate and it’s myself.”

NOW READ: ActionSA to put forward its own mayoral candidate to replace DA’s Phalatse

ActionSA Gauteng leader Bongani Baloyi said following the voting out of Phalatse their coalition has ceased to exist.

Baloyi said if there would be a round to field a mayor, they would nominate their candidate Funzi Ngobeni.

“The DA and their partners are more than welcome to endorse us. The coalition led by the DA has gotten us to this point,” he said.

ANC Gauteng secretary-general Thembinkosi “TK” Ncinza said Amad would be supported by all coalition partners.

“A temporary mayor might be informal discussions which get used by people from time to time,” he said.

ANC and EFF coalition

Nciza said the ANC and EFF have found each other when it came to their coalition.

“Our people must be served and egos cannot take centre stage when our people are suffering,” he said.

In regards to ActionSA saying they would put their candidate in the future for mayorship, DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said they have seen a reverse takeover of the Joburg metro by ActionSA.

“They are still bruised about what happened in 2021 elections when they didn’t get Johannesburg. They have now seen an opportunity and want to exploit it,” said Msimanga.

The council is expected to vote for a new mayor today.

READ MORE: Phalatse likely to be ousted, says ActionSA as DA coalition in Joburg falters