DA calls for Maile’s suspension after court quashes Tshwane take over

Following the Pretoria High Court judgment which has ordered the Gauteng executive committee to reverse its decision to dissolve the Tshwane Metropolitan Council, the DA has called for the suspension of cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC, Lebogang Maile.

The DA is also considering taking action in the National Council of Provinces saying that the ANC was equally complicit in its eagerness and haste to support the so-called “power grab”.

“This judgment confirms what the DA has said since the start of the disruptions to the Tshwane Council: that this decision to place Tshwane under administration was nothing but a poorly disguised attempt to take back, undemocratically, what the ANC had lost at the ballot box.

“This is why today’s judgment is a big victory for democracy, and a serious setback for those intent on undermining it,” said DA interim leader John Steenhuisen.

The judgment, delivered by Judge President Dunstan Mlambo, was handed down on Wednesday afternoon, stated that the decision by the Gauteng executive council to dissolve the Tshwane council, had been reviewed, declared invalid and set aside.

Read: Pretoria High Court overturns ANC Gauteng’s decision to dissolve Tshwane council

The judgment said both Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Maile did not make an effort to address the constant walk-outs by the ANC and EFF councillors which led to several failed council sittings.

The ruling said the failure to elect leadership was a direct consequence of the walk-outs.

It stated that all councillors are obliged to attend meetings unless there is a lawful reason.

“Such conduct was not prioritised or addressed by the MEC, despite its centrality in the council’s conundrum. It is in our view the most effective manner in which this situation was to be addressed was to invoke the procedures ordained schedule 1 items three and four of the Municipal Systems Act.

“This states that they should attend the meetings except for exceptional circumstances as per the act and sanctions should be imposed for non-attendance.

“The premier does not, in the answering affidavit, address the failure to act errant ANC and EFF councillors at all,” read the judgment.

The court believed the DA’s assertion that the decision was drastic.

The judgment stated that there was no guarantee that fresh elections were the answer to the problem as the same councillors might again be elected, resulting in a hung council.

The Gauteng executive, while welcoming the judgment, said it was weighing up its options.

“The executive council, together with its legal team, will study the judgment and decide on what steps to take,” it said in a statement.

When Makhura announced that Tshwane was being placed under administration last month, he cited the ongoing squabbles between the political parties, corruption, lack of service delivery and the flouting of procurement procedures as reasons behind his decision.

In response to the ruling, the governing party’s Gauteng executive insisted that there was an outcry from many communities about the deteriorating levels of service delivery, maladministration and political instability in the DA-led coalition.

While the ANC and EFF welcomed the decision, the DA said it would not give up without a fight.

Queenin Masaubi Political journalist | City Press

+27 11 713 9001 Queenin.Masuabi@citypress.co.za Media Park, 69 Kingsway Road, Auckland Park

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