EFF tables motion of no confidence against Mokgalapa

The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Tshwane caucus has submitted an urgent motion of no confidence against Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa, citing the city’s apparent limp from one disaster to another under Mokgalapa.

The party said in a statement on Tuesday: “There is an escalating water crisis in the City of Tshwane, more specifically at the water treatment plant in Rooiwaal which supplies water to residents of Hammanskraal. The mayor publicly lied and said the water in the area is clean and fit for human consumption. The Human Sciences Research Council and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research later conducted an assessment of the water treatment plant and found the water unfit for human consumption.

“There is a general deterioration of fiscal and procurement management standards at the municipality. It has gotten worse under Mr Mokgalapa, with numerous deviations in the awarding of tenders to some companies.

“Residents of Laudium, Atteridgeville, Mamelodi, and Soshanguve continue to experience power outages and have even embarked on protests against the city for failing to deal with the constant power outages.”

The EFF has accused Mokgalapa of failing to demonstrate urgency in resolving matters. According to the party, he is only obsessed with being in power.

“We call on all other political parties to support the removal of the current mayor and elect a capable mayor to lead the people of Tshwane.”

On Monday, the ANC called on Mokgalapa to “fall on his sword” after an audio recording, purportedly of him and transport MMC Sheila Senkubuge engaging in an intimate act, was leaked.

News24 reported on Sunday that in the recording, which was widely circulated on social media, the two office bearers can be heard discussing their colleagues in the council before allegedly becoming intimate with one another.

The ANC in Tshwane said they were not shocked by the recording and were also certain that the audio clip was authentic and revealed that Mokgalapa is “clearly having sex with [his] direct subordinate, MMC of roads and transport Sheila Senkubuge”.

“The ANC has no business with whatever DA politicians and their public representatives do in their private lives,” said ANC Tshwane chairperson Dr Kgosi Maepa.

“What we deem not to be acceptable, is for the executive mayor of a capital city, a political head of the City, to engage in unsavoury sexual activities with fellow executive members and others during working hours and in municipal offices, then claim distortion and blackmail.”

Maepa said the actions of the office-bearers are against the code of conduct of councillors and the City council’s “yellow rule and orders book”.

He added that that the ANC would be seeking legal advice on the course of action and appropriate procedure to be followed in the council.

“So that there is consequence management meted to both the executive mayor and MMC by council, we view this in a very serious light.”

Maepa added that they would be supplying “blue condoms” to the mayor, MMCs and DA councillors at the Tshwane council sitting on Thursday.

“The ANC [advises] the executive mayor to do the honourable thing and fall on his sword. We also think the DA must replace him immediately if he doesn’t resign himself, that’s if they still care about their reputation as a party.”

Mokgalapa and Senkubuge responded to the audio recording, saying that they viewed the leak in a very serious light.

“Not only is it illegal to obtain such in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, it is also being used as a tool to blackmail and extort undue favours from the City of Tshwane,” said mayoral spokesperson Omogolo Taunyane in a statement.

“Threats to release the recording have been communicated to us via an intermediary wherein certain demands have been made,” Mokgalapa said.

He added that the demands included the reinstatement of four officials who were suspended for violations of the Municipal Finance Management Act and other relevant statutes governing the conduct of officials of the municipality.

“We have both refused to give in to the demands of these individuals who are hell-bent on seeing us break the law to give them easy passage back into the municipality. This is despite the serious nature of the allegations they are facing. We will not sacrifice our oaths of office and betray the trust that the people of Tshwane have placed in us,” said Mokgalapa.

Mokgalapa also opened a case of extortion and blackmail.

(Additional reporting by News24 Wire)

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