ANC, EFF no-show pulls rug from ActionSA’s no-confidence motion in Joburg mayor

ActionSA has accused the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of deliberately collapsing the City of Johannesburg‘s programming committee that was meant to hear the party’s motion of no confidence in Mayor Thapelo Amad.

ActionSA’s no-confidence of motion

ActionSA on Tuesday was expected to officially table its motion of no confidence in Amad during the programming committee’s meeting. However, councillors from the ANC and EFF failed to pitch up during the meeting, leading to the motion not being tabled for debate in council.

ALSO READ: ‘Puppet mayor’ – ActionSA to submit no-confidence motion against Thapelo Amad

ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson Funzi Ngobeni has accused both parties of deliberately collapsing the meeting, saying the move was another desperate attempt by the ANC and EFF to cling to power, because they know they do not have the numbers to defeat the motion in council.

“They know that they have embarrassed the residents of Johannesburg by electing Mayor Amad, and are now attempting to protect themselves from embarrassment by facing a motion of no confidence,” said Ngobeni in a statement.

He said ActionSA will not allow the ANC-EFF ‘coalition’ to get away with this undemocratic attempt to stay in power, and will pursue all means – including heading to the courts – to ensure the city’s executive is held accountable.

Ngubeni said Amad has failed to implement the city’s policies such as the informal trading policy, while service delivery continued to decline.

“Mayor Amad’s EFF-ANC coalition also voted against an ActionSA motion to remove bucket toilets in the city, leaving our most marginalised residents worse off.

“The residents of Johannesburg have suffered long enough from the ANC-EFF and Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s back-door dealings to gain access to the City’s coffers, and ActionSA will not allow them to get away with it.”

SABC interview

ActionSA’s no-confidence motion comes after Amad, in an interview with the SABC, said he had attended a meeting earlier this month in which he secured a prospect for a R9.5 billion loan to fund “service delivery issues” and a “smart city”.

Amad’s interview was described by Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie as “embarrassing”.

“This is really embarrassing, what is the mayor saying? What loan? Where and when was this discussed? Which company is giving this loan? We cannot continue defending such stupidity, we must admit that we played a part in this mess, we must fix our mistake soonest,” said McKenzie last week.

Ngobeni said ActionSA’s no-confidence motion will have to be tabled at a later stage.

“That meeting has been postponed until a later date. I think what they (ANC and EFF) are trying to do is delay the inevitable. Thapelo Amad as the mayor has failed and he has to go.”

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel

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