The jury is still out on whether or not opposition parties in the City of Johannesburg will be able to unseat Mpho Phalatse as mayor.
While Vasco da Gama was successfully ousted as speaker through a motion of no confidence, it remains to be seen if opposition parties will be able to use the momentum gained to unseat Phalatse.
Wednesday's motion was tabled by the PAC and AIC, receiving 136 votes out of a council of 270 seats.
According to the Structures Act, a meeting should be convened no later than 10 days after a speaker has been removed to elect a new one.
ANC caucus leader Dada Morero told Sowetan they would push through a no-confidence motion against Phalatse at the next sitting, which is expected to sit by Thursday.
The motion against Da Gama was supported by opposition parties that included the EFF, ANC and the minority bloc consisting of the AIC, Al-Jama-ah and the GOOD party.
Together with coalition partners ACDP, COPE, UIM and ATM, the opposition managed to push through their numbers, beating the DA and its alliance partners by four votes.
While the ACDP said it would institute disciplinary action against two councillors who supported the motion, IFP Gauteng leader Bonginkosi Dhlamini said the party was waiting for a report from its caucus.
“We’re awaiting the report of our caucus to tell us what happened. The allegations are there and if it’s found that one of us voted for the coalition, drastic steps will be taken.
“The IFP is committed to the current government and there is no way we'll vote against it. We campaigned on a ticket to bring stability, service delivery and good governance. We’re still committed to that and this coalition has been doing just that,” Dhlamini said.
ACDP Gauteng leader Bishop Dalton Adams would face disciplinary action for defying the party and supporting the motion against Da Gama.
However, he said they were unhappy with Da Gama's way of chairing of meetings, revealing they had proposed that the DA had to recall him as their speaker.
“We had a technical meeting and it was categorically stated we were not happy but nevertheless we would not support the motion. In fact, we asked the DA to recall their speaker because we’re in a coalition,” he said.
Morero said parties were fed-up with Da Gama. “It was a given because smaller parties are fed-up with the speaker and not only him but the mayor as well. They don't take them serious or respect them due to the low number of seats and that’s the reason why they had to break ranks.
“We will shock them once again when we table motion against Phalatse. We’re confident we’ll have the required numbers to remove Phalatse. The shock they got yesterday will be nothing compared to what they’ll see.”
Da Gama’s removal comes a week after EFF leader Julius Malema vowed that the DA would see flames in municipalities it governed.
Malema accused DA leader Helen Zille of expecting the EFF to play the role of voting cattle. The EFF was instrumental in the election of the executive mayors of Joburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni metros after the ANC’s electoral support fell below 50% during the municipal elections in 2021.
Last week, the party supported the ANC's failed motion against Tshwane mayor Randall Williams, however on Wednesday, successfully ousted the DA-led coalition in the Knysna municipality.
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga labelled the events in Joburg as a power play, adding the writing for Phalatse's removal was on the wall. “It’s a power game with no discernible goals aimed at alleviating the plight of the people. South Africans are seeing the worst of coalitions.
“The writing is on the wall. Once you take a speaker out, you then have the motion of no confidence ready. The speaker is there to protect the mayor but now that person is no longer there.”
Prof Mcebisi Ndletyana said depending on what Phalatse put on the table between now and the next council meeting, she was safe.
“If Phalatse's removal is a party position it's likely that she's at risk of being voted out unless she offers them something between now and then. These alliances aren’t permanent and all they prioritise are their interests.”
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