Johannesburg - ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has appealed to the DA in Joburg to face the inevitable and stop trying to retain power through the courts.
Mashaba was responding to allegations that he was doing the DA’s dirty work trying to ensure that the motion of no confidence against executive mayor Mpho Phalatse does not go through.
The motion had been premised on criminal charges Phalatse was facing concerning alleged corruption. The Star understands that both Mashaba and Phalatse had been implicated in alleged corruption concerning the funding of the Field Band Foundation which received grants from the City of Joburg.
The DA had claimed that the Field Band Foundation matter could not be used to get Phalatse out of office because the matter was before the courts.
Mashaba confirmed that the matter was before the courts and that any excuse could be used to pass a motion of no confidence against Phalatse. He appealed to both the DA and the ANC to leave ActionSA out of the matter.
“I don’t know (why) we are implicated in this matter, this is a fight between the ANC and the DA. The ANC is using my case with the public protector, but the DA is also delaying the inevitable they do not have the numbers,” he said.
Mashaba said the public protector’s report had found that he and Phalatse were guilty of wrongdoing concerning the misappropriation of funds to the Field Band Foundation. This happened at a time when Mashaba was mayor of the City of Joburg and when Phalatse was serving as MMC on Mashaba’s mayoral committee.
Mashaba said he had taken the public protector’s report on judicial review and that the matter was before the courts. He said the matter would be heard in court early next year.
“I found this report ridiculous and the PP is not even defending the judicial review. The ANC could use an excuse to take Mpho out, they do not have to use my issue with the PP,” Mashaba said.
He said as much as he would love ActionSA to be in power in the City of Joburg, the party would not enjoy being in power through the courts.
“We have nothing to do with this DA court case, it does not make sense to us we should be focusing on the numbers,” Mashaba said.
Mashaba also denied that he had opened a criminal case against Phalatse concerning the matter.
The Star