ANC councillors in North West to be removed for defying orders

ANC municipal councillors in the Bojanala region in the North West will be removed from their posts if the continue to defy the party.

North West municipalities targeted

Moses Kotane topped the list of municipalities being targeted for action by the Regional Working Committee (RWC) – and could see all ANC PR (proportional representation) councillors removed.

Regional secretary Raymond Moraile confirmed that the council speaker, Gugu Mtshali, was given 48 hours to step down from Tuesday last week when she allegedly tore up the council’s agenda document during the postponed council sitting last week. He said Mtshali’s behaviour had brought the ANC and the Moses Kotane council into disrepute.

“The decorum of the house was not respected by her behaviour. She was asked by the organisation to issue and apology to the residents of Moses Kotane Municipality for her behaviour, but no apology was made. We told her to resign within 48 hours,” Moraile said.

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Moraile confirmed that the party met with Mtshali and she would be redeployed and undergo political courses.

ANC councillors removed

ANC Bojanala regional spokesperson Thabo Molamu said after the party provincial executive committee first removed Mtshali, the region resolved to take disciplinary actions against all ANC councillors at the municipality for their behaviour.

“On a number of occasions, this municipality has found itself dominating media headlines for all the wrong reasons. These include employing on a permanent basis a VBS accused who is out on bail, accusations of reserving jobs for only the politically connected persons, and for struggling to deliver on service delivery,” Molamu said.

He said the RWC decided to fully implement last year’s decision by Luthuli House to restructure the mayor, speaker and chief whip in each of the municipalities. The ANC national working committee (NWC) also ordered that Madibeng mayor Douglas Maimane, Moses Kotane mayor Nketu Nkotswe and Bojanala Platinum District mayor Matlakala Nondzaba must be fired.

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But Nondzaba had since been removed and replaced by Suzan Nthangeni, who was elected unopposed as mayor during a special council meeting on 15 July.

Molamu said Nthangeni wouldn’t be affected by the planned ANC action because she was recently redeployed to the mayorship.

Luthuli House accused the PEC of purging all members in municipalities and political structures it did not like in Bojanala including political opponents and administration officials. The NWC also said it observed the tendency to appoint members who were susceptible to manipulation in order for the PEC to gain access to state resources at Bojanala-based municipalities.

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