Hung council proves a dud

THE Mogale City Municipality, which is led by the DA coalition with other opposition parties, is set to have a third mayor in less than a year. The first mayor Lynn Pannall won the mayoral position by one vote.

However, she resigned in December due to illness. On December 7, she was replaced by another DA mayor Michael Holenstein.

Interestingly, Holenstein was recently removed through a vote of no-confidence. The ANC alleged that he flouted the Municipal Management Act. A new mayor will be elected today.

However I doubt that the new mayor will last long, as a coalition in a hung municipality is tricky and not viable due to the political parties’ ideological differences.

Furthermore having a Speaker and the whip from the ANC, while the mayor is from the DA-led coalition, is a recipe for disaster.

What compounds the situation further is that the ANC has 38 seats, and the opposition parties 39 combined. There will always be an apostate causing the malfunctioning of the municipality.

The apparent indecisiveness of the DA and lack of revolutionary discipline has cost the the voting block tremendously. Also there are rumours that the ANC is using underhand tactics such as bribery.

The EFF, IFP and FF+ have accounted for their votes during the vote of no-confidence motion.

They vehemently have voted against the motion. But the same cannot be said about the DA because their votes do not tally with the number of their councillors.

Since the local government elections in August, the council has failed to carry out its duty.

For instance, it is yet to adopt the IDP and budget vote. As a result, there is a growing call to place the municipality under administration. Voters should be given a chance to vote again.

It is clear from above that a hung municipality is not viable and causes distress to the citizens.

They vehemently voted against the motion

Mogale City