MEC for Corporative Governance, Lebogang Maile said although he had rescinded the suspension of former City of Johannesburg Speaker Vasco da Gama, the merits of his case were strong.
Maile said this during a press briefing held at the Gauteng Partnership Fund offices in Sandton on 28 January, to announce and elaborate on the rescindment of the suspension of Da Gama and another councillor of the City of Tshwane.
Da Gama was suspended for three months without pay on 23 January for postponing the vote for a new mayor from 28 November to 4 and 5 December. The Speaker wanted to seek legal opinion after councillors debated on what constituted a majority vote in Council.
Maile said he had suspended Da Gama because he acted in a manner that put his personal interests above those of the residents of the city. “Our decision was not taken lightly and in a partisan manner but rather in the spirit of cooperative governance. The merit and correctness of our decision remain as our actions have been consistent with the Constitution and pertinent municipal legislation,” added Maile.
Although his decision to rescind the suspension came after consultation with senior counsel, he said the suspension was not any form of abuse of power. “We maintain that the conduct of the councillors constituted a gross abuse of office, dereliction of legislative duties and caused harm to residents of the cities.”
Maile said they had received correspondence from the DA’s legal team that they would withdraw their urgent application at the High Court to have the suspension set aside. He added that he had also accepted the request from the Chief Whip of the City of Johannesburg to institute an investigation into the matter and be concluded within seven days.
“For us, the interests of residents come first and guide actions… obligations of municipalities under the Constitution and all relevant local government should never be compromised for political expediency, stern actions aimed at restoring order and decorum to Council meetings, which are supposed to address pertinent service delivery issues.”
Related article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/248149/chaos-erupts-johannesburg-council-uncertainty-speaker-vasco-da-gama-position/
