By Doreen Mokgolo
In a last-minute change of plan, the ANC in Tshwane, acting on the instructions of its provincial leaders, has withdrawn its urgent motion of no confidence in executive mayor Cilliers Brink.
The motion was on the agenda of the ordinary council meeting on Thursday, but after a back-and-forth between parties about what had been said in the media in the last few days, the ANC announced it was withdrawing the motion.
The motion was another attempt by the ANC to regain the leadership of the R50-billion municipality it lost to the DA-led coalition in 2016.
On Thursday, the party announced that it was tabling the motion against the mayor due to his alleged incompetence, which it believes is affecting service delivery.
The motion was driven by the mayor’s latest controversial move of refusing to use 60% of waste trucks that were non-compliant with the city’s revised requirements.
The ANC Tshwane caucus spokesperson, councillor Joel Masilela ka Mahlangu, said the province’s leadership had advised them to withdraw their motion of no confidence.
“This is while the leadership is having consultative engagements within the structures of the party.
“At a later date, we will be advised accordingly to process the motion of no confidence against the failed metro, which has not provided our people with services in the last eight years.
“We remain steadfast in our conviction that the DA-led coalition has to leave office due to their incompetence,” he said.
The ANC’s chief whip in Tshwane council, Aaron Maluleka, alleges that the city manager has created an army of his ex-colleagues acting on behalf of the mayor to remove senior managers.
Brink said the ANC wanted to table the motion of no confidence in him because the city has implemented consequence management initiatives.
” We can’t have rules being broken without any consequences,” he said. “They want to take us back to the days of looting, [and] internal mismanagement with no consequences.”
Pictured above: ANC Tshwane leaders.
Source: Doreen Mokgolo
