THE Ekurhuleni council is seeking legal recourse after the municipality speaker, Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, failed to convene a sitting on Thursday which was scheduled to elect a new mayor.
According to ActionSA caucus leader Siyanda Makhubo, Tshivhenga had sent out a notice informing the council that the meeting that was set to take place was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
“The extraordinary council meeting, which was set for today, 4 April 2024, follows the successful motion of no confidence against former EFF puppet mayor Cllr Sivuyile Ngodwana, where ActionSA successfully sponsored further recommendations for the speaker of council to convene an extraordinary meeting within seven days to elect an executive mayor.
“The motion followed a successful campaign for lack of service delivery and a lack of accountability from the mayor, who was a compromise candidate captured by the EFF,” Makhubo added.
He told The Star that the election of a mayor was not an item that can be taken lightly, as the entire administration was at risk every day as there was no political oversight taking place which resulted in what he called a “power vacuum”.
“ActionSA must make it very clear that there is no ambiguity on this matter. The unilateral decision of the speaker (was) an illegal decision that not only violates a council resolution to convene within seven days, but also rule 35 (6) of the Standing Rules of Council, that affords the speaker a right to postpone/cancel a council meeting 72 hours before a scheduled council meeting.
“It follows therefore that the speaker has consequently transgressed both the law and violated council resolutions. This illegal decision once again highlights Cllr Tshivhenga’s complete disregard for council procedures and the EFF’s determination to undermine every democratic process in council which does not suit them.”
The EFF’s provincial chairperson and city MMC, Nkululeko Dunga, said the speaker was well within her rights to convene and not to convene the sitting.
Dunga said there was nothing untoward about the speaker wanting to convene the meeting in a conducive environment.
“The speaker is not saying the sitting will not happen. She’s merely cancelled the sitting and the cancellation might have arisen from those ‘unforseen’ circumstances she told us about. So until such time that we know what are those circumstances we will wait,” he added.
Meanwhile, Makhubo said the municipality had been held hostage for over a year by Tshivhenga, whom he accused of allowing her organisation, the EFF caucus, to disrupt and postpone the council on four separate occasions.
“ActionSA will be meeting with other concerned party leaders today from 09:00, to explore legal options and the possibility of the city manager who as per the Municipal Systems Act, read together with the Structures Act, where after a majority of councillors (113) have petitioned the speaker, request the city manager to preside over the extraordinary council meeting.”