ANC a no-show at Tshwane council meeting on motions of no confidence

The ANC in Tshwane decided not to attend a council meeting on Wednesday which they had called to discuss the four motions of no confidence they had petitioned, accusing the DA of being unfair.

The four motions which were tabled, were against the mayor, speaker, acting speaker and chair of chairs.

Instead, they said the DA were being unfair and “undermined principles of natural justice” because the speaker posed a conflict of interest by wanting to preside over the meeting which was meant to discuss her own motion of no confidence.

At a media briefing, the ANC’s Kgosi Maepa, said the DA speaker and chairperson of council, Katlego Mathebe, rejected the ANC’s request to hold a Special Council Petition meeting.

“The petition was to table a motion of no confidence against her, the mayor, the purported acting speaker and chair of chairs,” Maepa said.

He added the speaker had caused a conflict of interest by wanting to preside over these motions.

“The speaker also wanted to preside over a meeting that is calling a motion of no confidence against her and wanted to determine the agenda of the same meeting, a clear conflict of interest.”

As a result of this, the ANC decided not to participate in the meeting on Wednesday.

“As a result of her conduct, the ANC and other parties [which forms the majority in council] took a sober decision to no longer participate in the unconstitutional meetings of the speaker that are characterised by clear conflicts of interest,” Maepa said.

Mpho Mehlape-Zimu, the DA’s deputy chief whip in Tshwane, said these issues were never raised at a meeting on Tuesday, instead asking the speaker how they should go about removing office-bearers.

She added the issue of the speaker’s conflict of interest was never raised.

“The speaker cannot pose a conflict of interest because she has already set a precedent that says when there is a motion against her, she will recuse herself,” Mehlape-Zimu said.

“This meeting that [the ANC] did not attend – that’s their meeting… It was supposed to discuss the four motions of no confidence that they petitioned.

“This was their meeting that they refused to come to, so at the end of the day they are wasting taxpayers’ money,” Mehlape-Zimu said.

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