Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Bobani’s future hangs in the balance

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members have walked out of the Nelson Mandela Bay Council meeting -which is expected to debate the future of Mayor Mongameli Bobani of the United Democratic Movement (UDM).

The meeting was petitioned by 117 councillors.

In Monday’s council the African Independent Congress (AIC) and the African National Congress (ANC) retracted the signatures of their members, while the EFF retracted them last month.

Speaker Buyelwa Mafaya has adjourned the meeting to seek legal advice, on whether it’s legitimate to continue with the meeting after the parties retracted their signatures.

Some of the items on the agenda are the postponed Special Council Meeting of the 17th October. Also on the agenda is the motion of no confidence in Bobani. Security has been beefed up outside the Nelson Mandela Bay Council Chambers in Port Elizabeth.

Streets around the Council Meeting venue have been cordoned off by police. Nyalas with armed tactical response team police are patrolling around. A message allegedly from the local gangsters was circulated on social media over the weekend threatening councillors not to attend the meeting. Last month the meeting was postponed at the eleventh hour by Speaker Buyelwa Mafaya, citing security risks.

Last month, the Eastern Cape Executive Council resolved to issue a notice of invoking section 139 (1) (A) of the Constitution to the Nelson Mandela Bay on its failure to meet its obligations. Invoking this section might see the provincial government taking over some administrative functions of the municipality, or dissolving the council.

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