The newly elected Speaker of the City of Johannesburg Council, Colleen Makhubele, will convene a meeting this morning, at the council chamber in Braamfontein.
It’s believed the meeting has been called to move a motion of no confidence in the Johannesburg Mayor, Mpho Phalatse.
Several parties in the council have previously accused Phalatse of being unfit to govern Johannesburg.
The African National Congress (ANC) in the city has warned the Mayor, that if she does not resign from her position, together with coalition partners they will begin the process of removing her from office.
After Makhubele was elected Speaker of council on Wednesday evening, coalition parties threatened that the ousting of the Mayor was next on their agenda.
Congress of the People’s (COPE) Makhubele says, “We are going to be scheduling a special council to look at the Mayor’s motion. Not only her motion, but remember the motion of the chair of chairs and others that have been put forward. So, I will be scheduling a special council to look into this motion. If they are admissible then it will definitely be debated and carried forth in council.”
Audio: Interview with the new Speaker of the City of Johannesburg, Colleen Makhubele:
Spokesperson for the Mayor, Mabine Seabe, says that Phalatse intended on finishing her term alongside the multi-party government.
[OPEN LETTER] Dear Residents of @CityofJoburgZA pic.twitter.com/pBX0QpVpUd
— Executive Mayor Mpho Phalatse (@mphophalatse1) September 29, 2022
‘Losing control’
On Thursday, the DA in Gauteng said it does not believe the party is losing control of the City of Johannesburg entirely, despite Makhubele having been elected as Council Speaker.
The DA Gauteng leader, Solly Msimanga, said the party has not been left in an entirely vulnerable position.
”We are still engaging. We had a long meeting until the early hours of this morning (Thursday) with the multiparty powers. We found out that it looks like the PA (Patriotic Alliance) has been engaging with the ANC and this is something that we are now wanting to engage with them about. We will be having a follow-up meeting to find out what are the issues and how do we then address those issues. We will then be able to put out a statement and then be able to plot our way forward.”
