Africa-Press – South-Africa. A bid by opposition party members to oust the ANC-Patriotic Alliance leadership in the embattled Cederberg Municipality failed dismally on Monday when a special council meeting erupted in chaos.
The opposition DA, FF Plus and Cederberg Eerste party sought to bring a motion of no confidence in the ANC/PA leadership in the municipality, after scoring a major victory during a by-election held last month.
But instead of a vote of no confidence, four councillors from the FF Plus and Cederberg Eerste were forced to leave the meeting amid allegations of misconduct.
Councillors at the municipality requested that ANC speaker Maxwell Heins should convene a special meeting to consider a motion of no confidence in the council’s leadership.
Two items were on the agenda for the special council meeting, the first to give consideration to a report on the misconduct of the four councillors and the motion of no confidence in the speaker, mayor and deputy mayor.
Heins said after lengthy disputes relating to procedural aspects of the meeting, the DA, FF Plus and Cederberg Eerste coalition refused to abide by a ruling of the speaker that they should recuse themselves from the meeting dealing with the item on the disciplinary report as they have a vested interest in the item.
He added he eventually asked the councillors to leave the meeting as they refused to accept the ruling.
“After they left the meeting under the escort of law enforcement, the meeting proceeded, only for the other two DA councillors to raise their objection to the DC report.”
Heins said the report had not been read or presented, but the DA pair unceremoniously also left the meeting.
The DA’s constituency head in Cederberg, Andricus van der Westhuizen, said the speaker unlawfully tried to prevent motions to remove the ANC-PA government.
He added:
Van der Westhuizen said Heins was warned his actions were unlawful.
“The councillors from the Democratic Alliance registered their protest against the undemocratic conduct of the speaker by leaving the meeting shortly after that. The total disregard for the rule of law and the democratic expression of voters has become a trademark of a desperate ANC wanting to cling to power at all costs,” he added.
After the local government elections last year, Cederberg was among the hung councils, and an agreement was signed between the DA, FF Plus, and Cederberg Eerste.
The DA terminated the membership of William Farmer, currently the municipality’s mayor, after he voted with the ANC in a no-confidence vote in former Cederberg mayor Ruben Richards.
The PA tabled the motion, which the ANC supported during a full council meeting in July.
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