Call for secret vote in no-confidence motion against Mangaung mayor
The DA in the Mangaung metro has called on council speaker Mxolisi Siyonzana to allow a secret ballot when the vote of no confidence against mayor Sarah Mlamleli takes place today.
The DA brought the no-confidence motion against the ANC mayor, whom it accused of “disastrous rule” as the leader of the Bloemfontein-based council.
This will not be the first time that the DA has called for Mlamleli’s head, having moved the same motion last year — but the speaker then dismissed it as “vague”.
DA councillor Mokgadi Kganakga said the ANC mayor had nowhere to hide and would fall if the speaker, who is also an ANC councillor, allows for a secret ballot.
Siyonzana will only decide on whether an open ballot or a secret one will be used at the actual council sitting.
Kganakga said councillors must be allowed to vote with their conscience instead of towing the party line, which would see Mlamleli survive the chop, given the ANC’s majority.
The DA in Mangaung believes the speaker should be guided by the 2017 court ruling relating to the National Assembly, wherein the court ruled that the speaker had the constitutional power to prescribe that a vote of no confidence be conducted by secret ballot. The ruling related to scandal-prone former president Jacob Zuma .
Among the evidence cited for Mlamleli not being fit for the job is the downgrading of the metro’s investment grading by Moody’s twice in a year.
“Crises during her term include the burning down of the historic Bloemfontein City Hall, the non-payment of
Bloemwater and Eskom , and service delivery to residents of Mangaung that has ground to a halt numerous times,” Kganakga said.
“Currently the metro owes Bloemwater R780m and owes R300m to Eskom. The total debt for the Mangaung metro is a staggering R6.5bn.”