Msimanga honoured, humbled after surviving vote of no confidence
Executive Mayor of Tshwane Solly Msimanga says he is honoured and humbled to have survived a second attempt to have him unseated as mayor through a motion of no confidence.
The ANC brought the motion on Thursday.
"We saw today that the ANC could not put anything of substance forward to justify the motion of no confidence," Msimanga said outside the council chambers after the failed vote.
A total of 77 council members voted in favour of the motion, 95 voted against it and 21 abstained, including the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Msimanga clarified that the EFF's abstinence was not a sign that the DA and the red berets had mended their relationship.
"The EFF indicated last month that it would put its own motion forward and they are still consulting with their legal minds, so they still might bring it," Msimanga explained.The ANC said it would take speaker Katlego Mathebe to court regarding the issue of the secret ballot. It had appealed for the vote to take place via secret ballot, however the DA strongly opposed the request.
Mathebe then ruled that the vote would be done via open ballot.
"We will first exhaust the court matter on secret ballot or not and then we can discuss any future plans regarding a motion of no confidence," ANC regional chairperson Dr Kgosi Maepa told reporters outside chambers.
The sitting on Thursday was delayed considerably after a dispute about the validity of the meeting.
This followed a postponement of the meeting on August 30 when the EFF's attempt to bring forward a motion against Msimanga was thwarted by Mathebe, who disallowed it due to technicalities.
