Mayor fires two ELM Mayoral Committee members
Two members of Emfuleni’s coalition Government of Local Unity (GLU) have been fired by ELM Executive Mayor Sipho Radebe after weeks of political tension intensified by their introduction of a motion of no confidence against him earlier this week.
The two fired coalition members of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) are Councillor Vincent Jones of the New Horizon Movement (NHM) and Councillor Mbuyiselo Kantso of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).
Their dismissal from the GLU was immediate, Mayor Radebe said in a media statement yesterday (Friday, 17 March).
Radebe must however still face a Motion of No Confidence as Executive Mayor in ELM Council registered by three former MMC members of the coalition Government on Monday this week.
Radebe did not announce replacements for the two – nor of a third who resigned earlier in the week – but said other MMCs would take over their portfolios on an acting basis.
The ANC immediately welcomed the move by Radebe, described as “decisive” by the party, which came after weeks of public tension and open declaration by the fired pair – and a third MMC – to remove Radebe as Executive Mayor.
“As the ANC, we are fully behind the Executive Mayor and his decisiveness in the face of clear sabotage,” said the ANC statement.
According to the ANC, Mayor Radebe removed those standing in the way of service delivery at ELM and accused both Jones and Kantso of “mercenary tactics” – a referral to their public demands that coalition partners be appointed as either Executive Mayor or Speaker of Council.
Jones was responsible for Public Works whilst Kantso handled Agriculture, Local Economic Development Planning, and Tourism. Neither had resigned as MMCs in the GLU before going public with demands or publicly expressing no confidence in Radebe.
A third MMC, S Mahlasela of the Vaal Lekgotla Party, earlier this week submitted his resignation letter from the GLU, but post-dated to 23 March and was not included in Radebe’s firing media statement.
Mahlasela was MMC for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Libraries, and Cemeteries.
In a gesture of civility despite weeks of acrimonious political tension and public criticism, Radebe thanked all three former coalition partners and wished them well for the future.
The motion of no confidence in Radebe was officially noted by Council Speaker Sibongile Soxusa during an aborted and chaotic council meeting on Thursday but she refused to hear the motion on the same day, saying that rules dictated 14 days’ notice.
The no-confidence motion is likely to proceed next week.
The two fired MMCs had not reacted to Mayor Radebe’s media statement at the time of publication.
