Tensions have run high at the Mamusa Local Municipality at Schweizer Reneke in the North West as community members attempted to disrupt a special council sitting to remove Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Councillor Olebeng Mogorosi as Speaker.
African National Congress (ANC) councillors in the municipality again defied the directive of the party’s provincial leadership. They were instructed to elect ANC councillor Doctor Batsi as the Speaker, but instead, they elected their preferred candidate, ANC councillor Lesego Motlapele.
“Ntate Batsi doesn’t qualify in terms of the criteria of the ANC. We differ. We are towing what you call the mandate of the ANC which is a policy of the ANC which are the guidelines of the ANC. So we are preserving the ANC, not the other way around. What they wanted to impose here was a factional preference. We are demonstrating to them that they are going to ensure that we restore the ANC,” says Motlapele.
Locals who gathered outside were not all happy with the outcome.
“The regional executive committee of the ANC wanted to put another councillor because he does not qualify as a speaker, he doesn’t have matric but I thank all the councillors today who took the decision upon this,” a resident explains.
“We are not happy at all with the decision that was taken by the councillors. So we feel that we are going to close the gate from Monday up until the minister comes here and solve this,” another resident elaborates.
