Western Cape provincial minister of local government Richard Dyantyi has taken the first step in his bid to strip Cape Town mayor Helen Zille of her executive powers.
He sent a letter to Zille on Tuesday giving her notice of a ”proposed amendment” to the form of government the city has.
Dyantyi is seeking to scrap the current mayoral committee, where all the seats are held by Zille’s Democratic Alliance and its allies, including the African Christian Democratic Party, the United Democratic Movement and the Freedom Front Plus.
In this system, the mayor holds executive power.
Dyantyi wants to replace it with an executive committee, where parties are allocated seats according to the strength of their representation in council.
This would give the African National Congress and the Independent Democrats seats on the committee, and strip Zille of her executive status.
Dyantyi says in the letter that he intends to consult Zille on the proposed change within the next seven days.
Zille has vowed to fight the proposal in the courts. — Sapa