Need for power trumps delivery

Come Friday, opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay will likely table a motion to remove mayor Athol Trollip, speaker Jonathan Lawack and chief whip Werner Senekal. If granted by the speaker, the sitting would be the latest in a series of attempts by the opposition to remove Trollip. Previous attempts have failed when one or more opposition parties broke ranks to save the mayor in exchange for some or other political gain. This time around, the parties seem all on board, potentially making up the 61 votes needed to pass a motion to remove the leadership.

On paper, the opposition argues that the current administration presides over an elitist system that has failed to live up to its promise to deliver to the city’s poor citizens.

Last week, we reported how a group of opposition councillors behind the motion wined and dined around the city, fine-tuning their strategy and dividing up roles in anticipation that they would form a new administration by next week.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it must be understood that any decision to vote out leaders, irrespective of the political motive, is part of the democratic processes afforded by our constitution.

The more pertinent question for us is whether the events of the coming week – whatever they may be – are in the best interest of our city.

The last two years have taught us that the management of a coalition government is about power plays rather than effective governance.

Therefore the decisions taken by various parties are often rooted in self-preservation and political mileage rather than the desire to deliver services to those who need them.

The performance of the current administration must indeed be interrogated against the needs of our city.

However, we would be naive to believe that this motion is inspired by a selfless desire to improve governance rather than to satisfy the need for power and all that comes with it.