Tshwane council ructions rage on as tide turns against speaker

City of Tshwane speaker Dr Murunwa Makwarela is set to face a motion of no confidence, this time, tabled by members of his own coalition.

In a statement, the multi-party coalition spokesperson Dr Corne Mulder said the motion would be submitted because of Makwarela’s deliberate action of refusing to convene a special council meeting to elect a new mayor following Randall William’s resignation two weeks ago.

Mulder said this was a deliberate act by Makwarela to have the municipality placed under administration by the provincial government or a plot to have himself elected mayor in a ANC- EFF run municipality.

“Makwarela appears to have aligned with the ANC and EFF in an effort to get elected as the mayor of the municipality.

“The issue at hand is the timing of the election of a new mayor in the City of Tshwane as well as the passing of the adjustment budget. The speaker has scheduled the meeting to elect the new mayor on February 28, which will prevent the adjustment budget being passed by the legislated deadline of the same day.

“This leaves the door open to the provincial government placing the City of Tshwane under administration, as the premier of Gauteng has already indicated his intention to do so,” Mulder wrote.

The coalition of the DA, ActionSA, Freedom Front Plus, IFP, ACDP and Cope has 108 seats between them in the 214-seat council.

This means, even without Cope’s lone vote, the coalition can still successfully pass items, including the vote of no confidence against Makwarela.

It’s unclear when the multi-party coalition’s motion will be heard or if it will be accepted by the speaker for inclusion in the next council agenda, which sits on Tuesday.