Johannesburg - Gauteng ANC chairperson Panyaza Lesufi said the ANC and its coalition partners would forge ahead with plans to reclaim all lost municipalities despite the return of Mpho Phalatse as mayor of Joburg.
This comes after the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, ruled in favour of the DA and its associates, reinstating Phalatse as the mayor.
Phalatse is expected to start work in her office today with the reappointment of her mayoral committee, which would exclude the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
Phalatse had approached the court to have the council meeting that booted her out of the mayoral seat declared unlawful. She also wanted the programming meeting of September 29 that led to her ousting declared unjust.
Lesufi said political parties in municipalities wanted to work with the ANC and a motion of no confidence against the mayor of Ekurhuleni would be tabled today as part of plans to return all Gauteng municipalities under the ANC belt.
“This is a short-lived victory and it is inevitable. We are determined, together with our coalition partners, to go back and rectify what the courts said we should rectify and we will continue on that particular path,” Lesufi said.
The Star understands another programming meeting would be called in which a new motion of no confidence against Phalatse would be slotted in.
With the expectation that Phalatse would be soon voted out again, the DA said the Speaker of Council would not be able to do this in tomorrow’s meeting because the programming meeting had not met to effect a motion of no confidence against Phalatse.
In her judgment, Judge Raylene Keightley said the meeting on September 29 was organised without proper notice and prejudiced Phalatse and other parties involved.
“The first applicant is declared to be the executive mayor of the City of Joburg. All decisions taken by the fourth respondent as the executive mayor of the City of Joburg are declared as unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid and are reviewed and set aside,” Judge Keightley said.
She also ordered the Speaker of Council, Colleen Makhubele, to pay the legal costs of the DA, which brought the application on behalf of Phalatse in her personal capacity.
“The first respondent is directed to pay the costs of the application, including the costs of two counsel, one being senior counsel,” she said.
Phalatse said the ruling should serve as a warning to other politicians who wanted to grab power through illegal means. She said she would be reviewing all decisions made by the ANC-led coalition in the City of Joburg.
“In this time, we will also be reviewing all decisions made by the illegal ANC executive, especially those that sought to facilitate corrupt acts in the city. The taps of corruption will once again be closed so that we can keep the lights on, the water running and the residents safe,” Phalatse said.
In a past interview, the DA leader in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga, admitted it was evident the party would lose Ekurhuleni because of the poor numbers the DA had and the new relationship between the EFF and the ANC.
Yesterday, the ANC and its coalition partners were stuck in meetings for the better part of the day with the hope of coming up with a political strategy that would ensure their return to power in a few days.
The Star