Floyd Shivambu and Mmusi Maimane during an inaugural council meeting on August 22
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will not vote with the ANC in a motion of no confidence in Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, according to the party’s deputy president Floyd Shivambu.
The ANC will table a motion of no confidence in both Mashaba and Johannesburg council speaker Vasco de Gama on Thursday. A meeting of the council is currently under way where a vote is expected to take place by a show of hands.
The Johannesburg council, which is led by and EFF-DA coalition, has 270 seats. The Democratic Alliance currently has 104 seats, the EFF 30 seats, the ANC 121 seats and the remainder are split among smaller parties.
If the EFF disavowed its promise to never vote with the ANC, it could swing the vote against Mashaba, ensuring the DA mayor is toppled.
But Shivambu tweeted that the party remains steadfast in its rule that it would not side with the ANC.
“The EFF will not support any of the opportunist motions of no confidence brought by the ANC in the Metros. Any rational and sensible South Africa will know that of all devils, the ANC in its present form is not an option and can’t be trusted with political power. They must go jump!,” he said.
The DA is currently facing another motion of no confidence against Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip, which was also brought by ANC council members. Shivambu has affirmed that the EFF would stand by its coalition with the DA in both the Johannesburg metro and the Mandela Bay metro.
The EFF has been openly critical of Mashaba’s leadership, calling him anti-black. But nevertheless, the party has stuck to its coalition agreement with the DA after last year’s local government elections.
Mashaba has been lauded for exposing corruption worth billions of rands by his supporters, but has also been criticised for making discriminatory remarks against foreign nationals and for blaming human rights lawyers for hijacked buildings in the Johannesburg inner city.
The ANC attempted to seek a secret ballot vote for the motion of no confidence against Mashaba, but failed. The vote is set to take place on Thursday.