Rumours of coalition’s collapse denied

A DEADLOCK on the hiring and firing of two municipal executives has put the DA-led coalition governing the Eastern Cape’s biggest metro, Nelson Mandela Bay, on a knifeedge.

Yesterday, cracks began to show between the coalition partners after the UDM and other smaller parties staged a walkout during the first council meeting of the year at the Wool Board Exchange Building in Port Elizabeth.

This spurred the regional ANC to issue an invitation to brief the media on the “collapse of the coalition government”.

DA mayor Athol Trollip told Independent Media the council meeting was called to table two reports on the termination of services of corporate services boss Mod Ndoyana, and the appointment of administrator and business owner Vuyo Zitumane to act in the position.

However, the meeting couldn’t proceed as the smaller opposition parties didn’t show up, according to Trollip.

Trollip’s deputy, Mongameli Bobani of the UDM, said the party disagreed with processes followed to appoint city manager Johann Mettler and Zitumane.

He stated, however, that this did not signal “the end of the coalition government”.

Trollip said the coalition government remained committed to its offer of “good governance, growing our economy to create jobs and to stop corruption”.

When rumours surfaced that the mayor and his deputy were butting heads over key decisions, Trollip said both of them had denied them.

ANC caucus leader Bicks Ndoni said what took place yesterday was a “major blow to the DA because what the deputy mayor is raising are fundamental issues”.

“Our position has always been clear from the outset that we, as the ANC, will continue to work for our people.

“We knew that the coalition will run into problems because its a marriage of convenience, and there are no principles.

“We knew that the mayor’s style of leadership was going to be problematic.

“The deputy mayor felt undermined in many instances,” Ndoni told Independent Media.

During last year’s municipal elections, the DA received 46.71% of the metro’s votes, followed by the ANC at 40.92% and the EFF at 5.12%. This translated to 57 seats for the DA, 50 for the ANC, the EFF six, two for the UDM, and one seat each for the AIC, United Front, Cope, ACDP and Patriotic Alliance.