New speaker expected as Johannesburg council ousts ActionSA's Nobuhle Mthembu

The City of Johannesburg council is expected to vote for a new speaker after ActionSA’s Nobuhle Mthembu was ousted.

A total of 212 councillors voted against Mthembu, who could only muster 48 votes in her favour.

Mthembu stated that the party is bigger than the individual and that the issue was not solely about her, especially after ActionSA chose to abstain from the motion of no confidence against Mayor Dada Morero.

“We have to show the residents that we are not here for positions only. We are here to serve, and if it means, based on principles, that we lose a position, so be it,” she said.

Mthembu also accused the DA, which brought the motion against her along with the Al Jama-ah party, of trying to return to power through the back door and not caring for residents.

DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the council approved loans without giving councillors all the necessary information.

She was referring to the R2.5 billion African Development Bank loan approved by the council last week.

According to Kayser-Echeozonjoku, Mthembu called meetings at the last minute, leaving councillors unable to determine how the city’s residents would be affected by decisions taken.

She stated that fruitless and wasteful expenditure has ballooned to R23 billion, which was only revealed through a leaked document from a member of the presidential working group prior to the presentation of the Auditor-General SA’s report.

Kayser-Echeozonjoku added that Morero bypassed the council and undermined the mandate of councillors.

“We are still waiting for the notice from the acting city manager,” she said when asked about the date for voting for the new speaker.

In terms of the legislation, the municipality has between one and 14 days to hold the elections in council. She said the municipality has totally collapsed under Morero.

After Morero survived the DA’s motion of no confidence, his administration said the victory was a clear indication that the majority of parties, as representatives of the residents, were voting for stability, continuity, and service delivery in the city.

“We agree that Johannesburg has serious challenges. However, we are now focused on turning around the situation. We have put in place solutions and interventions that are moving us in the right direction. We are building the Johannesburg we want to see,” he stated.

Morero continued: “The beauty of this process is that we are supported by the Presidential Support Package, the Bomb Squad, the private sector, and civil society. We reaffirm our commitment to implement the IDP (integrated development plan) and its budget.”

He reaffirmed the commitment to continue implementing the high-impact service delivery programme.

“We remain committed to grow the economy of Johannesburg and this will be supported by the Digital Public Infrastructure that will be rolled out in this financial year,” added Morero.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za