PA changes its tune on coalition
PATRIOTIC Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie says he has no aspirations to govern or to be in parliament.
He goes on to say that his party seeks to bring skilled people together.
Not so long ago the PA officially withdrew from the Nelson Mandela Bay coalition after mayor Athol Trollip failed to put forward the PA’s candidate, Marlon Daniels, as the preferred candidate for deputy mayor.
Daniels was instrumental in having former councillor and coalition member Mongameli Bobani, from the UDM, axed from his position, after tabling a motion of no confidence.
Now a few months later, the PA officially signed coalition and co-governance agreements with the DA ahead of Thursday’s council meeting, in which Trollip faced another vote of no confidence.
In exchange, Trollip said the coalition would appoint Daniels deputy mayor and the new member of the mayoral committee for roads and transport.
Also not so long ago, during the election campaign, McKenzie said he would fight the DA wherever it was.
McKenzie’s support for the DA in the vote of no confidence in Trollip is as flawed as flawed can be.
Retaining Trollip in power will only see citizens of the Nelson Mandela Bay’s suffering continuing.
Nothing of this decision of McKenzie’s is in any way politically motivated or in favour of the citizens of the Bay.
The mutual disrespect and dislike for EFF leader Julius Malema of Trollip and McKenzie is self-evident, as McKenzie has shown through his open letter to Malema and Trollip’s rhetoric after his failed convenient relationship with Malema.
These two leaders are merely ganging up against Malema.
Labelling Malema a racist and interpreting his remarks as dangerous is merely an attempt to stay in power.
Malema and his EFF made a principled decision to stand against the DA for not supporting its view on land expropriation without compensation.
I take strong exception to McKenzie using the Khoisan matter as motivation for his decision to support the DA.
His view is that the “Khoisan, the first nation in South Africa, is not even around the table discussing what should be happening”.
Here I would like to enlighten McKenzie that the issue of the Khoisan has been tabled and the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Bill has been brought before the National Assembly.
It was the same DA that McKenzie now supports, who staged a walk-out during the vote on this bill, that seeks to restore the dignity of the Khoisan, and to give Khoisan leaders all the rights and privileges their Nguni counterparts enjoy.
In the past McKenzie also has cast a few racist remarks towards whites, in particular Trollip.
McKenzie’s decision has no political weight or substance, and blaming Malema is nothing more than giving in to Trollip’s lucrative proposition.
It is sad to note that our leaders are still up for sale, all at the expense of their constituents and the citizens of the Nelson Mandela Bay in general.
On the eve of the motion of vote of no confidence, the DA and the EFF were rallying in the metro, to consult and explain to their constituents as to why they were making particular decisions.
The PA supporters’ silence and absence was visibly felt, a clear indication that its leadership is not accountable to its members.
But alas, the mayor spoke on their behalf.
The PA and EFF are playing swinging partners on the Nelson Mandela Bay residents’ misfortunes and the residents are ultimately going to bear the consequences.
It’s been said one must always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head.
They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children.
This is what the electorate went to the polls for, not for individuals to make unilateral decisions based on personal experiences and personal convictions.
One should always be mindful of how one came to where one is.
The vote of no confidence was not intended to decide Trollip’s fate, but the fate of the residents of the Nelson Mandela Bay.
We should go back to the voting stations through a re-run of elections and once and for all resolve this stalemate we find ourselves in. That is the only logical conclusion.
Christian Martin ANC MPL, Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, Bhisho