Tshwane speaker must run council smoothly or face expulsion, warns Maile

Gauteng Cogta MEC Lebogang Maile has issued a stern warning to Tshwane Speaker Katlego Mathebe, threatening to expel her should the special council meeting plunge into chaos.

The Tshwane council is expected to vote on motions against the DA-led administration on Thursday after the ANC and EFF petitioned for the removal of the speaker, mayor and MMCs.

This is the third time in two months the City will debate the motions. The first motion, which saw the removal of DA mayor Stevens Mokgalapa, was suspended by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria after the DA challenged its validity.

The legalities of the meeting came into question after Mathebe recused herself and placed DA councillor Zweli Khumalo in her place.

After the ANC and EFF raised a furore around Khumalo, Cogta then placed its own official to convene the meeting. However, the DA argued in court that this was unlawful.

The ANC then resubmitted a motion with a petition the party said was signed by both parties.

Maile, who has kept a keen eye on Tshwane, on Wednesday revealed that he intended to intervene in the City, citing that the DA administration had produced bad governance and poor service delivery records.

While Maile agreed the speaker should recuse herself as there was a motion against her, he said Mathebe must facilitate the process of appointing the person who would relieve her.

He added that he did not expect Cogta to take over the process if the speaker “did not misbehave”.

“We expect the speaker to make sure that council runs smoothly. If the speaker does not execute her responsibilities as stipulated in the Constitution, I want to repeat it again – we will invoke the powers of the MEC for Cogta to either suspend or expel her. It has nothing to do with politics,” he said.

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