PHILLIP NKOSI, Middelburg and OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday
THE ruling African National Congress has cracked the whip on on mavericks within its ranks for the third time in a week, saying the party would not tolerate defiance by individuals within our ranks as it dumped a democratically elected rebel mayor in Middelburg in favour of its own candidate.
Mayor Ben Mokoena was finally ousted by a high-level ANC team – including senior national executive committee (NEC) members Steve Tshwete and Joe Modise – this week after weeks of bitter infighting.
The ANC move comes days after it sacked MP Andrew Feinstein from a key party post for insisting that a probe into the governments controversial R43bn arms deal went ahead. At the weekend, chief whip Tony Yengeni was quoted as saying that ANC parliamentary committee members were obliged to vote according to party lines.
Mokoena was elected mayor by 18 ANC councillors and three opposition parties after the local government elections last year in direct defiance of instructions from the ANCs national executive committee (NEC).
Tshwete and Modise said Mokoena was never mandated to serve as mayor and stole the position from the partys official nominee Ida Mahlangu, who was only supported by 12 of 30 ANC councillors in the mayoral ballot.
The remaining 18 ANC councillors, as well as the Democratic Alliances (DA) 12 councillors, the African Christian Democratic Partys only councillor and an independent councillor voted for Mokoena after citing his successes as Middelburg mayor between 1995 and 2000.
Mokoena is credited with winning the city one national and two provincial Masakhane Awards by ensuring that 100 percent of residents pay for rates and services.
The revolt by ANC councillors is the most extreme protest yet by disgruntled provincial party members who are campaigning against the NECs undemocratic decision to appoint executive mayors, MECs, premiers and other senior provincial office bearers without provincial consultation.
Mokoena said he was accepting the ANC ruling. No misconduct charges have been lodged against Mokoena, but Tshwete and Modise confirmed that an investigation would be launched into his election. – African Eye News Service
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