The ANC in Johannesburg said it is shocked at the sense of “entitlement” that former mayor DA mayor Mpho Phalatse has been parading in public.
This comes after Phalatse announced that she was challenging her removal in court. In court papers she argued that she was entitled to be the mayor.
Phalatse also believed that the programming meeting that was called day before she was ousted was improper and her removal had happened in an illegal gathering,
ANC regional secretary Sasa Manganye said Phalatse was refusing to relinquish power and that she was desperate.
“The DA, unsurprisingly, refuses to accept the democratic outcome of council, in particular the fact that its former mayor and the party as a whole and no longer enjoys the confidence and the support of the majority,” Manganye said.
Manganye described Phalatse as a “DA informer” who was clinging to power. He said the ANC was disappointed in her unwillingness to accept defeat.
“We have taken note of papers submitted to the speaker’s office and the executive mayor of the city and are confident that both the speaker of the city and mayor will successfully defend the matter,” Manganye said.
The Star understands that while Phalatse was adamant in pursuing the court challenge other coalition partners such as Action SA had accepted their fate.
News reports suggested Phalatse had been routinely excluded from meetings concerning the coalition in the city of Johannesburg. DA national leader Helen Zille has since denied this.