ANC in Tshwane’s bid for continuation of special council meeting on Tuesday fails

The ANC’s bid to call for the continuation of a Tshwane special council meeting, has been unsuccessful after Gauteng Cogta MEC Lebogang Maile backtracked on his decision to suspend Tshwane speaker Katlego Mathebe.

Following the suspension of Mathebe, the ANC in Tshwane attempted to strike while the iron was still hot. The party wrote to the acting city manager asking for the special council meeting to deal with motions of no confidence against the mayor and others.

The original special sitting, which was held earlier this month, was meant to deal with motions against the mayor, speaker, chair of chairs and acting speaker. The meeting collapsed after a protracted fight on the order in which the motions should be heard.

In Mathebe’s absence, the acting city manager now holds the responsibility of calling council meetings, said ANC chairperson in Tshwane Dr Kgosi Maepa.

“We will request that the meeting be held on Tuesday, January 28 at 10am, so that we finalise motions of no confidence on all DA presiding officers and the AWOL executive mayor,” said Maepa on Friday.

Maile announced Mathebe’s suspension on Thursday, and a day later the ANC announced that they would be calling for the continuation of the earlier meeting on Tuesday.

However, this request did not materialise as Maile declared on Monday that he had rescinded his decision to suspend Mathebe and former Johannesburg speaker Vasco da Gama.

City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo confirmed to News24 that the acting city manager Makgorometje Makgata could no longer deal with the request in light of recent developments.

“There is no way he can meet with them because there is a sitting speaker,” Mashigo said.

Maepa confirmed that they had not heard back from the acting city manager regarding their request.

Suspension backtrack

In a statement, Maile said he took the decision to rescind the suspensions in light of advice received after the DA set in motion an urgent court application to deal with his decision.

Maile said he would brief the media on Tuesday to elaborate on his decision to backtrack.

The DA approached the Gauteng High Court on Friday, filing an urgent application seeking interim relief against Maile’s decision to suspend both Mathebe and Da Gama, as they launch a review application.

In a founding affidavit submitted to court, seen by News24, Mathebe argues that Maile’s decisions were unlawful and irrational. She further adds that the effect of the decisions will be extreme, News24 reported.

Mathebe has also announced that she will brief the media on these revelations on Tuesday afternoon.

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