Parties will not rest until Phalatse is removed from office – Makhubele

Speaker of Johannesburg council, Colleen Makhubele says the minority parties will not rest until they win the battle to remove incumbent executive mayor Mpho Phalatse.

This as the minority parties plan to pursue yet another motion of no confidence against Phalatse before the end of January.

Sixth motion

If the motion is tabled before council, it would be the sixth Phalatse has faced since she assumed office.

“As the minority parties we have all agreed that the government of local unity must take over as soon as possible to save the city of Johannesburg,” said Makhubele.

The take over by the minority parties which includes ANC, EFF, ATM, Cope among others was neccessitated by the lack of service delivery as well as the financial issues which the metro continues to grapple with according to the speaker.

NOW READ: Minority parties gun for Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse in motion of no confidence

Meeting

Makhubele told The Citizen that all the minority parties would meet after council recess to discuss the state of affairs of both the Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni metros.

Although previous attempts to remove Phalatse failed Makhubele was confident it was a matter of time before they dethroned her.

“We are no longer taking about negotiations of coalition, we are not gathering numbers, we have done that part, we know what the government of unity is or what it looks like. That part we are quite confident about.

“We’ve got the numbers, we know what to do, we’ve got everything in place, it’s just a matter of time,” she said.

No details divulged

Makhubele would not be drawn into revealing details of how the take over would take place as the ANC and EFF were still on the negotiation table over the control of Ekurhuleni mayorship.

“I can’t give you a clear answer on how the multiparty government is going to proceed but the overall feeling is that we need change as soon as possible so that we can address the financial situation and service delivery. That is the consensus right now.”

Mayoral spokesperson Mabine Seabe said the mayor’s focus was strictly on governing the metro and not the theatrics of the opposition parties in council.

On the latest attempt to oust Phalatse, Seabe appeared to be unfazed as he revealed that work to stabilise the multiparty coalition was underway.

“We are speaking to all stake holders within council to ensure that this government finishes its term of office,” added Seabe.

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