The Economic Freedom Fighter’s (EFF) Bethuel Munyai is now the new Council Speaker of the West Rand District Municipality (WRDM) and is ready to hit the ground running in his new title.
During an interview with the Herald, he said the previous Speaker resigned, following a motion of no confidence against him. The motion was held on March 31 at the WRDM Council chambers, where Democratic Alliance (DA) Council Speaker Gerhard Kruger at the time tendered his resignation.
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Unpacking the interesting turn of events, Munyai said that Kruger ducked a vote of no confidence against him and chose the easy way out.
He added the DA had rendered poor service delivery in the West Rand and this is what led to their downfall.
“Through the poor service delivery of the DA and diverting service to the pro-white areas, we were able to realise that this is not the government of the day. The DA was not executing the mandate of the council and three motions were placed against the Speaker, the Executive Mayor, and Council Whip.
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“Subsequently, the Speaker resigned after our first attempt to place the motion of no confidence against him which we voted for. He then asked for a legal opinion and during the week while we were waiting for that legal opinion, he resigned. This made things simple for us and we then went for special council whereby we elect a Council Speaker and that’s when I was elected to occupy the position,” said Munyai who added that he will oversee and chair the council.
The move comes after a coalition was formed with the African National Congress (ANC) and The African Independent Congress (AIC).
According to Munyai, the coalition is aimed at ensuring that service delivery is channeled to all areas within the district equally so.
“What we have formed is a coalition to serve the people. It’s not a coalition just to take over and fill the positions,” said Munyai who added that this is to be more in touch with the people on the ground and prioritize service delivery.
Munyai is the current Provincial Deputy Secretary of Gauteng in the EFF and is the former secretary of The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) in the West Rand.
