Mashatile intervenes in Mogale City dispute
ANC speaker and chief whip reinstated
MOGALE City’s ANC speaker and chief whip have been reinstated.
This follows a special council meeting called by DA mayor Michael Holenstein about 10 days ago to propose a motion of no confidence in both the speaker and chief whip.
However, after the speaker, Patrick Lipudi, refused to convene the meeting, Holenstein called a meeting in which they were replaced with DA members.
The ANC refused to accept this and called for assistance from the provincial government.
On Thursday, Gauteng Co-operative Governance MEC Paul Mashatile, accompanied by the head of the department Nhlakanipho Nkontwana and a departmental delegation, met all parties represented in the Mogale City council.
Also attending the meeting, to discuss the developments, were the mayor, the speaker, the chief whip, as well as mayoral committee members.
Nkontwana said all the parties were given the opportunity to present their case as a way of establishing the merits of the developments.
“The meeting agreed that the Structures Act and the council rules will dictate how the council runs its business,” he said.
In this regard, the outcome of the unlawful meeting held on January 13 was set aside.
The meeting also agreed to use proper and lawful channels to appoint a person in the vacant position of the municipal manager, Nkontwana added.
The meeting agreed that the position should be filled as a matter of urgency.
“In addition, the meeting also agreed to utilise a multiparty rules committee that will review the rules and orders and present their report to the full sitting in the council,” he said
But the Mogale DA political head Alan Fuchs said there was no general acceptance by the parties involved in the meeting with Mashatile that the meeting was illegal.
But in the interests of moving forward, an agreement was reached that the motion of no confidence in the speaker and chief whip would be retaken on February 10.
In terms of the rules of council, meetings have to be convened by the speaker.