Joburg’s executive mayor will no longer face a motion of no confidence at the next council meeting after a decision made by the council’s programming committee.
Herman Mashaba and council speaker Vasco Da Gama would have faced the motion lodged against Mashaba by the Joburg caucus of the ANC at the end of the month.
However, Funzela Ngobeni, the leader of council’s executive business, who is also the MMC for Development Planning, said on 13 September the committee found the ANC’s motions of no confidence against Mashaba and the speaker inadmissible.
“Since the ANC first indicated its intention to table motions of no confidence against the mayor and speaker, we have welcomed the opportunity to defend our record in cleaning up the corrupt mess that we have inherited,” said Ngobeni.
He explained that the committee considered the motions but that the call for a secret ballot was in conflict with council rules. The committee did, however, decide that a vote of no confidence was lawful and could proceed, but the ANC declined to change their application, Ngobeni said.
Ngobeni said the rules of council stand in stark contrast to the rules of the national assembly, which allows the speaker to decide on a secret ballot.
“It is important to note that the same conditions that prevailed in the National Assembly, where members were being threatened, do not prevail in the City of Johannesburg. This reaffirms the application of our rules for an open ballot.”
But the ANC’s Jolidee Matongo argued that the party’s application met the criteria for a motion to be tabled in council and that it will fight to debate the motion at the end of the month.
“The ANC will pursue the motion even if it means approaching the highest court in the land,” he said.
The ANC wants a secret ballot to afford all councillors, even those from the DA, a chance to vote against Mashaba. “Many DA councillors have in the recent past approached the ANC requesting us to file [this] motion of no confidence,” he said.
Ngobeni also accused the ANC of alleged vote-buying in August last year, saying that it may be happening again.
Matongo said this accusation is baseless and without truth.
“The ANC will consult with its legal team to discuss the legal route [to ensure] that the motions are debated and voted on at the September council meeting.”
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