Malema’s DA ultimatum
EFF leader wants Zille fired or his party will quit coalition
THE FUTURE of the DAgoverned metros in Gauteng could be hanging in the balance after EFF leader Julius Malema threatened to pull out of the coalition if Helen Zille is not removed as premier of the Western Cape.
The ultimatum comes after the former DA leader was suspended on Wednesday from all party activities by the party’s highest decision-making body – its federal executive (fedex).
Zille is accused of damaging the DA’s image and for bringing the party into disrepute over her tweets praising certain aspects of colonialism.
She is due to appear before the DA’s independent disciplinary body, its federal legal commission (FLC), chaired by advocate Glynnis Breytenbach.
Yesterday, Malema issued an ultimatum to the official opposition to remove Zille as premier or risk losing the metros of Tshwane and Joburg, which the DA runs in a coalition with the EFF.
“They must be warned. You will remain with the Western Cape… with Johannesburg and Tshwane gone. We don’t want to associate with a party that protects colonialism and apartheid.
“We are (almost there with regard) to withdrawing our votes in those municipalities if you don’t suspend Helen Zille as premier. We are not going to allow that nonsense to continue,” said Malema at a media briefing in Joburg.
The firebrand leader warned that the DA might not be able to unseat the ANC in the 2019 national elections if it continued on its current trajectory. Malema characterised Zille as the “Zuma of the DA”, saying: “If Helen Zille believed she was treated unfairly, she must resign and take the DA to court to clear her name.
“But to allow her party to deteriorate this much, then she is no different from Zuma. She is compromising the 2019 project of removing the ANC.”
Malema suggested that the DA was pulling the wool over people’s eyes by suspending Zille from party activities and not from her position as the Western Cape premier.
“How is Zille going to get a mandate if she is not attending DA meetings? She is supposed to attend a caucus (meeting).
“Who is Zille representing in the Western Cape Legislature?”
Malema reiterated that DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s authority was being “undermined” in his party.
Contacted for comment, Maimane said the DA was “a party
DA is a party of due process, we await disciplinary hearing outcome
“KFC mayor must go”, “Babes wase Nandos.”
These were some of the jibes by DA supporters on Emfuleni mayor Simon Mofokeng during their protest at municipal offices.
They taunted the mayor for his alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money, after he apparently splurged R1.7 million on KFC, Nando’s and hotel bills. They braved the chilly weather to join the demand that Mofokeng step down from his position.
“Voetsek Simon Mofokeng,” some yelled, as they gathered at the licensing department in Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal yesterday. “ANC is failing us” and “The Emfuleni mayor is eating our money” read some placards. The march was led by Daddy Mollo, a DA leader from the Sedibeng district, as well as the provincial leaders, John Moodey, Kingsol Chabalala, Makashule Gana and Khume Ramulifho.
Once the DA’s “blue wave” arrived at the municipal offices to hand over their memorandum, they found the gates were locked.
“Under the leadership of Mofokeng and the ANC, we are known all over the country as “Babes wama potholes” and “Babes wase Nandos”, shouted Mollo.
He said that under Mofokeng’s leadership, Emfuleni residents suffered due to poor service delivery.
The DA reiterated its claims that Mofokeng was making use of security contracted to the municipality to guard his private guest house at a cost of R1m. In an attempt to prove the claims, the DA showed The Star documents.
DA leaders said they would fight until the mayor was removed. They also accused the ANC of discriminating against non-DA members in employment.
“Unemployment in the Sedibeng region is nearing 50%, yet the mayor and his ANC cronies decided that only ANC members deserve jobs,” Mollo said.