Trollip may not survive motion of no confidence

It is by no means certain that DA mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay metro Athol Trollip will survive today’s no-confidence vote as his political enemies were, up to late last night, frantically courting the one councillor who holds the balance of power.

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) said it would vote in Trollip’s favour on condition its councillor, Marlon Daniels, was given the position of deputy mayor.

It is understood the ANC had made a counteroffer, via Julius Malema’s EFF, to lure Daniels by giving him the full mayoral position if he supported the motion. However, the EFF has officially denied they were in talks with Daniels to allow him to become the mayor if he offered support.

“Yes, I was offered the post, but principles above positions will be the order of the day,” said Daniels.

The PA decided it would oppose the EFF-initiated no-confidence motion against Trollip, according to PA president Gayton McKenzie, because of the EFF’s racist sentiment – as espoused by Malema – to remove the mayor because he is white and that they would “cut the DA throat”.

This was interpreted to mean that the EFF planned to kill whites.

Malema was hoping to get the PA vote to add to its six votes, the ANC’s 50, UDM’s two and one each from the African Independent Congress and the United Front to obtain the 50% plus one majority.

The DA has 57 votes and when added to the single vote each from Cope, ACDP and the PA, would bring the total to 60, which is equal to that of their opponents.

This is the second no-confidence motion against Trollip, who was ironically saved by the EFF when all its six councillors voted against the UDM motion.

Malema said they were punishing Trollip because his party did not support land expropriation without compensation.

At a rally in Port Elizabeth yesterday, Trollip reassured supporters he was ready and willing to work with the PA. He said he knew the character of their “newest coalition partner” because he’d been in government with the PA before.

In an SABC interview, Trollip said when he and McKenzie debated two days ago, a foundation of shared principles was formed.

– news@citizen.co.za

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