ANC mayor who was ‘illegally appointed’ will be removed

Ngenisile Thekile will be removed as the mayor of the Great Kei Local Municipality after an objection from the DA, according to the party.

They said their objection to him being either the speaker or the mayor was “vindicated” on Tuesday, after the ANC allegedly held an illegal council meeting on 31 July to install him in council.

The DA said this happened in defiance of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) after the ANC “forced” Thekile’s predecessor, Loyiso Tshetsha, to resign.

“Cllr Tshetsha tendered his resignation as Mayor/Speaker but did not resign as a councillor. Accordingly the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) refused to declare a vacancy in council,” said the DA’s Bev Wood, their whip in council.

Wood accused Thekile of major corruption.

“The induction of Thekile was illegal as there was no vacancy in council, and he could not have been sworn in as a councillor. Furthermore, his election as mayor would have been illegal as there was no quorum in the council chamber for the election to take place.”

The council is made up of 13 councillors, which would need a quorum of 50% plus 1 to be considered quorate.

Only five councillors were present at the meeting and any business conducted was therefore declared null and void, said Wood.

“The DA took this matter up with the office of Fikile Xasa, MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs,” said Wood. “We have now been informed by the administrator of the municipality that this council meeting will be nullified. This nullification will take place at a special council meeting scheduled for Friday.”