Fresh bid to unseat Mashaba
ANC lodges new no-confidence motion
THE ANC in Joburg has lodged a fresh motion of no-confidence against mayor Herman Mashaba in what appears to be a desperate attempt to wrest the city out of the DA’s control.
The motion was against the DA for failing to hold the executive accountable by allowing them not to table reports on the state of the council finances, according to ANC spokesperson Jolidee Matongo.
He said the mayor had also failed to show political leadership as the City of Joburg was unable to provide services to the residents due to lack of finances.
Under the DA, Matongo added, the city had a revenue collection of R1.8 billion and City Power was R1.2bn in the red.
The latest motion comes following the ANC failure in September to unseat the DA using the same tactic.
At the time, the ANC filed notices of a motion of no-confidence against Mashaba and council speaker Vasco da Gama.
In their notices, the ANC had insisted that such a motion should be conducted through a secret ballot.
However, that was rejected by the Standing Rules of Council, which cited its rules stating that such a motion should be an open vote.
The ANC then approached the high court in Joburg requesting the court to set aside the council’s ruling.
The party also alleged that Mashaba had, since he took office in August last year, plunged the City of Joburg into a financial crisis. However, the court ruled against them for lack of urgency.
Minutes after the ruling, the ANC threatened to appeal the court’s ruling in the Constitutional Court but failed to do so.
Yesterday, however, the ANC lodged a new bid in accordance with Council Rules.
Mashaba was unperturbed by the latest move, saying his council “welcomed the opportunity to defend our record in cleaning up the corrupt mess we inherited from the ANC”.
He said yesterday the ANC’s motion had nothing to do with protecting good governance and ensuring service delivery to residents.
“Rather, these are the actions of a party only interested in self-gratification and continuing the corruption which allowed them to rob the residents of this city blind.
“The evidence of this can be seen in the poor management of the city’s infrastructure and deteriorating services ran by the former ANC administration.”
Mashaba added that the ANC’s motion lacked substance and was nothing more than a smokescreen to regain power.
“It is unfortunate that the ANC will use the council’s time and taxpayers’ money in their mission to further enrich themselves.
“I look forward to debating their frivolous motions in the coming council sitting,” Mashaba said.