Pretoria - City of Tshwane’s multiparty coalition partners’ attempt to oust council Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana from office yesterday fell flat after a special council sitting to hear a motion of no confidence against him was adjourned.
This was after Ndzwanana called into question the legality of the meeting on the grounds that at least 10 signatures of the 108 councillors appended on a petition for the meeting were fraudulent.
Coalition partners, who include ActionSA, DA, Freedom Front Plus, IFP and ACDP had petitioned city manager Johann Mettler to convene a council sitting after they accused Ndzwanana of refusing to do so.
During the meeting scheduled for 3pm yesterday, Ndzwanana was expected to make an opening remark before handing over the proceedings to Mettler to preside over the meeting.
But he took multiparty coalition councillors by surprise announcing that the meeting was adjourned at least 10 minutes after it had started.
He said: “I would like to put it on record that my office received a petition on March 24, 2023 at 6.30pm outside normal working hours. I didn’t fail nor refuse to call this meeting.”
He said that he had engaged in an exercise of satisfying himself with regards to the legitimacy of signatures included on the petition.
“And I noticed that close to 10 signatures didn’t meet the signatures which my office has a record of. I am of the view that the petition doesn’t meet the minimum requirements set out in the legislature and that means that this meeting is illegal. This meeting is adjourned,” he said as he made his way out of the Tshwane House council chamber.
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said: “It is the same as what happened last Wednesday. The City came together in a municipality that has been embarrassed by the political shenanigans in the last few weeks. People need services here and this speaker chose to adjourn the meeting that (had) already (started).”
He said what transpired was another attempt by the minority parties to frustrate the coalition, which was in the majority.
.In a letter from the EFF in Tshwane to Mettler, it alleged the petition submitted to the speaker contained fraudulent signatures of more than 10 councillors. Ndzwanana is expected to convene another special sitting today to elect a mayor.
Pretoria News