Is it game over for DA-led coalition?

NA emerges as biggest winner in proposed new leadership if court gives go-ahead for meeting

While the court will decide today if a council meeting goes ahead to oust Nelson Mandela Bay’s top political leaders, the Northern Alliance has emerged as the biggest winner in the new coalition negotiations.

The party has been allocated three positions in the proposed new leadership, including mayor, and political heads of roads and transport, and economic development.

The Northern Alliance has three seats in council and holds a deciding vote in the attempt to oust mayor Retief Odendaal, his deputy Khusta Jack and chief whip Bill Harington.

However, the Gqeberha high court will decide at 8am whether the meeting — scheduled to start an hour later at the Feather Market Centre — goes ahead.

Jack took speaker and Northern Alliance president Gary van Niekerk to court yesterday to try interdict the meeting from convening.

The Northern Alliance (2), PAC (1) and AIC (1) bolstered the opposition’s efforts to have Odendaal, Jack and Harington ousted, signing a petition earlier this month for a meeting today.

The three parties formed part of the coalition, led by Odendaal, but the petition was also signed by the ANC (48), EFF (8) and Patriotic Alliance (2).

A battle is also raging in court over the Northern Alliance’s third seat in council after Bevan Brown challenged his expulsion.

If the meeting goes ahead and a new government is formed, several sources revealed that the:

● ANC could take the deputy mayor, chief whip, speaker, budget and treasury, corporate services, human settlements, and infrastructure and engineering positions;

● EFF will take electricity and energy, municipal public accounts committee, and rules and ethics committee;

● Northern Alliance will take mayor, roads and transport, and economic development;

● Patriotic Alliance will take safety and security; and

● PAC will retain sports, recreation, arts and culture, with the AIC keeping public health.

The meeting was called after the EFF filed motions of no confidence against Odendaal, Jack and Harington on May 11.

The party wants Odendaal removed because of his failure to act against Jack when allegations of wrongdoing were flagged by the Eastern Cape auditor-general (AG).

However, the AG has since cleared Jack linked to his business dealing with the metro on two occasions.

According to court papers,

Jack approached the court to declare the decision taken by Van Niekerk to schedule the meeting as inconsistent with the SA constitution and invalid.

He wants the court to review and set aside the decision.

During court proceedings, Jack’s attorney, advocate Jean Nepgen, argued that if the meeting went ahead, it risked political instability.

“If the wrong decision is taken at the meeting, money would have been lost from convening the meeting and coming back to this court to have that decision overturned,” he said.

“The meeting can’t lawfully continue in respect of the motions against the first and second applicants [Jack and Odendaal], and if it does, decisions taken at the meeting would be unlawful and will have to be undone.”

He said Van Niekerk did not exercise discretion when he scheduled the meeting and fundamentally misconstrued his responsibilities.

“If a council only requires a majority to debate a matter, then what’s the point of a motion being filed, because council can just be convened and vote on a decision.

“The premise upon which the meeting was called does not exist because of the communication from the AG,” Nepgen said.

However, Van Niekerk’s advocate, Mncedisi Simoyi, said the meeting had to go ahead because his client could not defy an instruction from a majority of councillors.

“There’s no legal basis to say the decision to call the meeting was unlawful after a motion was filed,” he said.

“My client cannot refuse a meeting requested by a majority of councillors, and there was nothing against the law and council rules in this regard.”

Simoyi argued that council matters were supposed to be debated in council and managed by the speaker. “The courts are not the political playground to make council decisions.

“These people are not even supposed to be here but should allow council proceedings to unfold and raise their concerns about the motions there.”

He said the court had the power to review and set aside any unlawful decision taken at council, and, should there be a need to go to the court to overturn a decision, that would be done then.

ANC regional deputy chair Siphiwo Tshaka said they anticipated a favourable ruling.

“We have been preparing for this and all our councillors are ready to get into government after many meetings of deliberating and allocating positions to coalition partners.”

Tshaka said ANC councillor Makhi Feni had resigned to make way for regional chair Babalwa Lobishe, who could take up the deputy mayor post.

“We want to interact with the 2023/2024 budget that favours white communities; we want to adjust it to benefit the most vulnerable, which are black and coloured communities.”

Northern Alliance general secretary Vasu Padayachy said the party believed the court application had no merit.

He said it was filed to delay the motions of no confidence from being tabled.

“We are confident that [acting] judge [Ivana Bands] will allow the motion of no confidence brought by the majority of councillors to be tabled at a lawfully constituted council meeting.”

EFF regional chair Khanya Ngqisha said the court proceedings were just to determine the urgency of the meeting and not whether it should go ahead or not.

“So there will be a council meeting on Friday, and we are ready to hit the ground running and serve our communities.”

Yesterday, Rocklands residents protested in support of Odendaal, burning tyres and blocking the R344 road.

A petition was signed by more than 100 residents, calling for Odendaal to be left alone.

Odendaal said he was overwhelmed by the support shown by residents who picketed in townships calling for him to remain.

“The support tells me we are on the right track and I will be absolutely devastated if we are derailed by another coalition that has proven in the past that it can’t function and will collapse our city.”

He said that while the metro was not perfect, great progress had been made in a short time.

GOOD regional chair Siyanda Mayana said they hoped for a judgment in their favour, otherwise they would fight the motions in council.

“You must remember that a petition does not equate to votes that will be cast when the motions are tabled.”

FF+ councillor and coalition chair Harington said they could not predict the court outcome but remained hopeful.

“The residents want the government to remain, hence the protest.”

Meanwhile, the Civil Society Coalition held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the state of the city and its future.

Coalition chair Monga Peter called on the city’s political leadership to stop wasting time and resources by constantly forming and realigning coalitions which had a track record of being unstable.

“We call on the ANC and DA to form a government of local unity, which is the will of the people.

“If the political leadership does not take this bold step in the interests of the people of the metro, then the instability caused by the leadership vacuum will continue as one coalition after the other collapses.”