Opposition parties in the embattled Mangaung Metro are calling for the removal of the Executive Mayor, Mxolisi Siyonzana. The battle lines have been drawn just months into the new municipal administration.
This move follows violent service delivery protests in the Metro.
Siyonzana’s predecessor, Olly Mlamleli, was ousted through a motion of no-confidence in August 2020.
Mangaung Metro opposition parties call for executive mayor Mxolisi Siyonzana to be removed
The Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have filed a motion of no-confidence against Siyonzana. They have accused him of failing to improve service delivery and fill critical senior posts in the Metro.
EFF blames infighting within the ANC
EFF’s Mangaung whip, Gopolang Lipale, has also blamed the African National Congress (ANC) for the situation in Mangaung.
“The instability about Mangaung is about the infighting within the ANC, the factional battles within the ANC. Our people are suffering because of the infighting. Therefore, we have put in a motion of no confidence that we have submitted on Tuesday to the office of the Speaker with regard to the situation in Mangaung. Unfortunately, part of it is that we found ourselves in that situation whereby the ANC is now about to go to the regional, provincial and national conferences whereby Mangaung has now coughed up the money in terms of supporting whoever wins the conference,” says Lipale.
DA says Mangaung Metro remains troubled despite being placed under administration
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State says the troubled Mangaung Metro in Bloemfontein is far from getting out of the woods despite it being placed under administration.
Mangaung was placed under administration just over two years ago after it failed to implement the financial recovery plan.
Mangaung DA councillor, David Masoeu, has accused a team of administrators of failing in their duties.
This comes at the time when oppositions in the Metro are united in their call for the removal of executive mayor, Mxolisi Siyonzana.
Masoeu did not hold back in his criticism saying “My take is ANC is not fit to hold the office for the following reasons. The very intervention team that is supposed to intervene in the Mangaung is the one that is causing us problems because they have appointed 120 people without budget, without them having any approval they say they went to the MEC for COGTA to assist them with the approval but municipal manager at Mangaung was not informed. So ours is they cannot be doing things that they supposed to actually make sure they don’t happen. Like appointing people out of budgeted and those type of things.”
