Legal opinion confirms ‘removal’ of Mayor Trollip and Speaker Lawack unlawful and invalid
28 August 2018
A legal opinion obtained by Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) City Manager, Johan Mettler, on the removal of the Nelson Mandela Bay Speaker, Jonathan Lawack, and Mayor Athol Trollip has confirmed that it was “unlawful, invalid, and capable of being set aside”.
The DA has already committed to taking the council’s decision on review as we believe that the process to appoint the new Speaker was procedurally invalid and therefore, that the "removal” of Mayor Trollip was also invalid.
Section 36(3) of the Municipal Structures Act (117 of 1998) states that:
The municipal manager of the municipality or, if the municipal manager is not available, a person designated by the MEC for local government in the province, presides over the election of a speaker”