ANC Gauteng deputy Panyaza Lesufi says political parties in Tshwane and Johannesburg had spent more discussing motions of no confidence than "serving our people". (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
As Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga faces a motion of no confidence, the ANC in Gauteng says the only way forward for the province is to have fresh elections.
For Tshwane, the party is formally releasing its newly elected regional chairperson, Dr Kgosi Maepa, to be nominated to serve in council and be leader of the opposition in the municipality.
“We do not want to go through the back door to run that municipality through an unprincipled coalition,” said deputy provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi in a statement.
“However, we are confident that should we go for elections, the ANC will emerge victorious. Therefore, the ANC is calling for fresh elections so that the people can give a party of their choice a fresh unambiguous mandate.”
Lesufi said political parties in Tshwane and Johannesburg had spent more discussing motions of no confidence than “serving our people”.
Fresh mandate
“We therefore believe that the final resolution that will restore order and sanity in all these municipalities is to have a fresh mandate so that the ANC can have a clear mandate and if the ANC does not have that mandate, we will make way for those that have been given a clear mandate to run those municipalities.”
The ANC is of the view that the Tshwane municipality is not functional and needs assistance.
“We call on all parties in council that are opposed to corruption and maladministration to support this motion.”
The party would hold a night vigil on Wednesday and a march on Thursday.
EFF motion
The Economic Freedom Fighters said last week that it tabled a motion of no confidence against Msimanga.
Party leader Julius Malema said Msimanga was inconsistent and had not approached them through relevant channels regarding the removal of city manager Moeketsi Masola.
Mosola was issued with a notice of intention to suspend him by the Tshwane Metropolitan Council on Wednesday after he was recently implicated in the awarding of an alleged irregular tender to engineering consultants GladAfrica, worth a reported R12-billion.
The EFF said it knew that the city manager was being punished because it was suspected that he was the one to expose the fact that Msimanga had hired former Tshwane chief of staff Marietha Aucamp.
Aucamp resigned in May after it was revealed that she did not have the proper qualifications for the job.
Msimanga is DA’s choice for Gauteng premier in the 2019 elections.
Johannesburg
In Johannesburg, the ANC believed the DA-led coalition had failed to offer proper service delivery and financial performance between August 2017 and this month.
They criticised Mayor Herman Mashaba for not moving quickly enough to deal with corruption. — News24
Read then ANC Gauteng’s full statement:
ANC Gauteng Statement