MEC meets Tshwane mayor after altercations

TSHWANE metro will not be placed under administration after altercations between councillors at a sitting this week.

The DA took over the city after the local government elections and Solly Msimanga is at the helm.

The new mayor has had a torrid time since taking office in August — first there were land invasions and now the violent disruptions.

The council speaker was on Tuesday forced to call in the metro police and security officials to calm the situation when DA and ANC councillors clashed.

Gauteng local government MEC Paul Mashatile called Msimanga late on Tuesday after hearing about the altercation. On Wednesday, Msimanga said the MEC was concerned about councillors’ safety and upholding decorum in the council.

Keith Khoza, Mashatile’s spokesman, confirmed on Wednesday that the MEC had met the mayor, speaker and chief whips to get to the bottom of the events and to “restore decorum and functionality” to the council.

Mashatile’s department would probe what caused the violence.

Khoza said Mashatile had no intention of placing the council under administration.

“You don’t just wake up and place a council under administration … it is a constitutional process, only used when the council collapses,” he said.