ANC to approach Constitutional Court over Mashaba motion of no confidence
The High Court in Johannesburg decided to strike the party's urgent application off the roll on Tuesday.
Executive Mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba listens as Mr. Ralph Jones of SANTACO speaks at Marks Park in Johannesburg on 19 September 2017. The mayor officially signed the Negotiation Framework Agreement with public transport operators for the transformation of public transport between the CBD and Inner City; Alexandra; Sandton; Midrand and Ivory Park. Picture: Yeshiel Panchia
The ANC in Johannesburg is planning to approach the Constitutional Court after it lost its court bid to have a motion of no confidence in Mayor Herman Mashaba and speaker Vasco da Gama debated before council.
The High Court in Johannesburg decided to strike the party’s urgent application off the roll on Tuesday.
The party approached the court on September 15, after Da Gama rejected its call for the motion of no confidence against Mashaba to be held via a secret ballot.
In a statement, the ANC said: “The striking off the roll by the judge doesn’t mean that the unlawful and unconstitutional decision by the Speaker to refuse to place the motions on the Council agenda for 27 September 2017 is correct.
“The decision by the Judge simply means that the matter was not that urgent as there was still an opportunity to table the motions at the 29 November 2017 meeting,” the ANC added.
The party said it would approach the Constitutional Court on an urgent basis for direct access to hear the matter.
“A motion of no confidence on the Mayor is an instrument to hold the executive accountable and cannot be blocked even by the Speaker.”
News24 reports that the high court heard that Da Gama’s refusal to have the motion of no confidence in Mashaba tabled before council was “unconstitutional and unlawful”.
Lawyers representing Da Gama and Mashaba argued that the ANC did not give reasons why the mayor should be removed on Wednesday and not at the scheduled council meeting in November.
DA Gauteng leader John Moodey said the proposed motion was part of an attempt to destabilise DA-governed metros.
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