Opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay call for meeting to elect mayor

Opposition parties in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro have called on the office of the speaker to convene a special council meeting next month to elect a mayor.

This after the Democratic Alliance (DA), the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Congress of the People (COPE), the United Front and the United Democratic Movement (UDM) submitted a petition to the speaker of council, Buyelwa Mafaya.

The metro has been without an executive mayor since the removal of Mongameli Bobani in December last year.

The Democratic Alliance tabled the motion in which the majority of councillors removed Bobani.

DA provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga says the city is in crisis.

“We can’t allow this. We need to turn things around. We are residents here and ratepayers – so we can’t sit back and not do anything. We can’t allow that this beautiful city to be destroyed from brick to brick because of our personal egos. We have sat for weeks and weeks and we have agreed that we must indeed make a date for the meeting.”

While the office of the speaker in the metro has confirmed receiving the petition from the parties, a date for the meeting has not yet been confirmed.

WATCH | Mongameli Bobani removed as Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor:

DA, UDM coalition still unclear

Meanwhile, it still remains unclear if there will be a coalition between the DA and the UDM in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro despite talks between the two parties that had taken place earlier this year.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said his party doesn’t want to be in government for the sake of it but wants a stable government that will last the course until next year’s municipal elections.

However, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa last month welcomed proposed talks about the establishment of a new coalition government.

The two parties previously co-governed in the hung municipality after the 2016 local government election.

– Report by Lwando Nomogi, additional reporting by Kim Daniels