The DA in the Mangaung Metro calls for an immediate retraction of a letter sent out by the Council Whip Vumile Nikelo on Friday (05/08) that states all council meetings will be suspended.
This comes after Nikelo sent out a letter on an official letter head of the Mangaung Metro saying that the ANC’s Interim Regional Committee (IRC) of the Mangaung Metro decided to suspend all council meetings pending the outcome of intern dissiplinary hearings. The letter comes just a few days before the deadline (11/08) of some official duties of the Mangaung mayor, Mzolisi Siyonzana.
The Mangaung Chief Whip of the DA, Maryke Davies, said in a press relase the letter of instruction is a complete conflation and even integration of party and state.“No party, specifically not the governing party on whom the functionality of council greatly depends, is entitled to suspend council until it had dealt with its internal issues. ”She says the DA object in the strongest sense to the interference of the ANC IRC of the working of the metro.
“The IRC is preventing the council from exercising its constitutional duties of oversight, legislative functions and executive functions. ”She also says the use of a Mangaung Metro letterhead to communicate and implement internal ANC decisions, is a gross violation of the separation of party and state and impedes on the outonomy of the council and administration.Johan Pretorius, leader of the DA caucus, says the ANC is battling with internal politics. “The Chief Whip does not have the power to suspend council meetings.
”In a press release on Monday (08/08) he says that what makes this instructions even sadder, is the fact that the ANC are of the opinion that they have jurisdiction over 50 coucillors from opposition parties. “The Municipal Structures Act clearly states that if the speaker of a municipal council is absent or not available to perform the duties of the speaker, the council must elect another coucillor as speaker.
Davies says some of the matters that need to be finalised during the council meeting in August, include that the mayor need to make public the service delivery and budget implementation plan. She says 11 August is the final date under legislation for this.She says amongst other things the mayor must also make public the annual performance agreements and ensure copies are provided to council by Thursday (11/08).In the letter written to the speaker, mayor and deputy mayor, the IRC directs through Nikelo that there will be no council convened until a decision is made by the IRC or any other relevant ANC structure.
According to the letter, the decision comes after the IRC’s deliberations with the work of a disciplinary subcommitee and its findings and ruling from hearings that took place during April being the dismissal of some ANC members from structures.
