ANC-Elected Speaker gags DA’s Motion of no Confidence in ANC’s Mayor Masina
by Ald. Tania Campbell — DA Leader in Ekurhuleni
Date: 25 June 2021
Release: Immediate
Type: Media statement
Following residents and businesses call for action against ANC appointed Mayor, Cllr Mzwandile Masina, due to his failure to rectify the electricity crisis gripping the ANC and its coalition run City of Ekurhuleni (CoE), the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni brought an urgent motion of no confidence in Mayor Masina on the 15 June 2021.
As the DA, we brought this motion against Masina, as his ANC administration has failed the people of Ekurhuleni through his inability to deal with rampant power outages. Many residents are still in darkness, some without power since early June.
Instead of allowing the urgent motion to be heard by the council, the ANC-elected Speaker of Council, Ald Patricia Kumalo, gagged our request. Effectively protecting and placing her ANC Mayor ahead of the peoples’ needs in Ekurhuleni.
Ald Kumalo’s failure to allow the motion to be heard by the council silences the struggles communities are having to endure. The ANC and its coalition partners have already voted to raise the electricity tariffs by around 14% and cut the electricity maintenance budget by almost R168 million. This poor planning and weak governance has led our infrastructure to the brink of collapse.
This motion of no confidence should have become Masina’s political execution. He has abused his office and plunged Ekurhuleni into darkness during his tenure.
The Speaker of council denied us the chance to debate Masina’s fitness to hold office, using frivolous excuses to protect her ANC number one. Stating reasons why the Motion of no Confidence shouldn’t be heard include the inane reasoning that the matter “…can be considered by other means in the near future (local government elections)”.
While the DA is ready for the upcoming Local Government Elections in October 2021, we are concerned that with the current collapse of the Ekurhuleni with Mayor Masina at the helm, there may not be a city left by the time the elections arrive.
We will not stop fighting for residents and businesses right to reliable electricity, and will be escalating this matter to higher structures. The Speaker may have gagged our Motion of no Confidence in Masina but will be driving it at a parliamentary level. We are calling for a full investigation and decisive action!
We have subsequently taken the decision to submit a motion of no confidence in the Speaker of Council, Ald Kumalo, as her political bias towards the ANC is preventing council from performing its democratic function of holding the executive to account. The Speaker has denied no less than three DA motions, despite all of them meeting the necessary criteria to be heard in council.
Residents and businesses across the ANC and its coalition partner-led city are being brought to their knees under this waning administration. We have committed ourselves to protect the rights of individuals and businesses and will also escalate this matter to COGTA to ensure action is taken. Residents deserve to live in cities that are functional and deliver basic services as enshrined in our constitution.
We have already submitted an energy motion to parliament, and the Mayor as well as the HOD for Energy, Mark Wilson, were called in front of a committee to account for Ekurhuleni’s rampant blackouts. We have been driving this issue relentlessly and will not stop until it is resolved. While Cllr Masina is silent as the collapse of service delivery continues and hides behind the notion of a ‘pro-poor’ budget and spreading fake news on Twitter, we are committed to residents and businesses across Ekurhuleni. Fighting for change and uplifting the lives of businesses and residents who call Ekurhuleni home.
Please sign our petition below, calling for the removal of Executive Mayor Mzwandile Masina:
https://www.petitions.net/petition_calling_for_the_removal_of_executive_mayor_cllr_mzwandile_masina
#Time4Change
*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)
Ald. Tania Campbell
DA Leader in Ekurhuleni
