The newly-elected Johannesburg Council Speaker Margaret Arnolds has scoffed at suggestions that she has no real political power.
Arnolds who is from the African Independent Congress (AIC) was elected unopposed during an extraordinary council sitting on Tuesday.
This followed the axing of Colleen Makhubele from her party the Congress of the People (COPE) last week.
Arnolds says she is not the only one who’s dependent on the support of other parties.
She says, “If Action SA did not want Mpho Phalatse they would have withdrawn their vote from her. You see that is happening all the time in the City of Johannesburg, where the DA votes and Action SA votes differently and they use the votes. Whereas probably they would have come together and would have had more votes. So, I don’t think it’s only myself that is dependent on any party, but it is how coalitions are going to work going forward.”
VIDEO | Arnolds says she is ready to take on her responsibilities:
