Patriotic Alliance ‘disgusted’ with ANC, ‘reconsidering’ Ekurhuleni coalition

In a statement on Friday, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) has criticised the ANC for siding with the United Democratic Movement (UDM) in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The PA is in a coalition with the ANC in Ekurhuleni while the UDM is in coalition with the DA in Nelson Mandela Bay. However, they have threatened to pull out of the coalition after the ousting of their deputy mayor, Mongameli Bobani.

The EFF also did not support the PA’s motion and has said it will also be reconsidering its support for the DA in the three metros where it governs as a minority government.

The PA’s sole councillor, Marlon Daniels, brought a motion of no confidence against Bobani, which was supported by the DA, whose mayor, Athol Trollip, had been at loggerheads with Bobani for months.

Gayton McKenzie’s PA said they had initially raised the motion because the metro’s “coalition government has been rendered dysfunctional due to the irreconcilable differences” between Trollip and Bobani.

They said they could not “continue being a spectator to this while our constituents in Nelson Mandela Bay are being killed via the many gang fights”.

“They don’t have houses due to shortage of housing and adverse prioritisation, our people are jobless and the leadership responsible to solve the above is busy focusing on power struggles and issues of personalities.”

The PA said their “investigation” had determined the “problem” was Bobani “after considering all the facts including the pending corruption investigations against the deputy mayor”.

They also rejected the allegations that Trollip was racist.

They said they were “shocked and beyond angry at the ANC who stood behind the UDM, a party [that] a few days ago tried unsuccessfully to remove the leader of the ANC, a party that has repeatedly stood side by side with enemies of the ANC, a party that made no secret that they would like to see the ANC disappear from the face of the earth”.

“We are gutted and currently seriously reconsidering our relationship with the ANC in Ekurhuleni where we are co-governing. It goes beyond our understanding how the ANC did not support the vote of no confidence, firstly due to the enormous alleged corruption charges against the deputy mayor and secondly how they as a party could support this UDM leader when he ensured the ANC would become opposition and remain this until the five-year term is up.”

They repeated their ambition for Daniels to take up the deputy mayoral position.

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