Tshwane mayor takes legal action to stop removal from office
City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink has filed court papers to prevent an ANC sponsored motion of no confidence in him.
Cilliers Brink, the mayor of the City of Tshwane, has submitted court documents to block a no-confidence motion against him.
The motion set for Friday, 30 August, is sponsored by the African National Congress (ANC) which is reportedly considering forming a coalition with ActionSA which is part of the current multiparty coalition government in the metro. The two parties recently partnered in the City of Johannesburg, and this move saw Kabelo Gwamanda from Al Jama-ah removed as executive mayor and ActionSA caucus leader Nobuhle Mthembu elected speaker of the council.
TSHWANE MAYOR WANTS TO PREVENT OUSTING
In the court papers addressed to the speaker of council, Brink’s lawyers argued that he was not given enough time to prepare for the motion.
“As the executive mayor, our client has the right to know the charges against him and a fair opportunity to take steps to defend himself adequately against them, which requires collecting and preparing evidence and submissions to the council.”
Earlier on Wednesday, political parties said they remain committed to the multi-party coalition and backed the Tshwane mayor.
Freedom Front Plus’ Grandi Theunissen said they remain fully committed to the coalition as the party has contributed a lot in the metro.
“We are fully committed to remain here, to keep a stable coalition on its root. The root is to make sure that the service delivery in the city is on course,” he said.
Brink said they are concerned the most about the fact that ActionSA would have to rope in the EFF which then raises the spectre of the kind of chaos and mismanagement happening in Johannesburg.
DA spokesperson in Tshwane Kwena Moloto said the local working relationship between the DA, ActionSA, and other coalition partners remains strong.
Moloto said there was no indication from any party that they intended to disrupt this stability.
“Tshwane continues to serve as a beacon of hope for Gauteng residents, demonstrating that local government can be effective. We believe that no party would seek to undermine this stable and prosperous multi-party government only to open the doors for those who crippled Tshwane in the past,” she emphasised.