Multi-party coalition files urgent court papers to safeguard meetings next week

5 April 2023

The multi-party coalition has filed urgent court papers in the North Gauteng High Court against the Speaker of Council’s refusal to call council meetings to hear a motion of no confidence against himself and to adopt budgets.

Last week the Speaker was presented with petitions signed by a majority of councillors in the City of Tshwane calling for a meeting to debate a motion of no confidence in the Speaker on 12 April 2023 and to table budgets on 13 April 2023.

Section 29(1) of the Municipal Structures Act is explicit in the understanding that the Speaker must call a meeting when directed to do so by a majority of councillors.

Despite this, in a written response the Speaker originally refused to issue the notices for these meetings is what is blatantly an effort to frustrate the majority of the multi-party coalition at the behest of the ANC and EFF who continue to pull his strings to destabilise governance in Tshwane.

The court papers seek to compel that:

these council meetings of 12 and 13 April 2023 are immediately called;

that the Speaker is interdicted from adjourning or interfering with the council meeting to consider the motion of no confidence in himself;

that the Speaker and all councillors are interdicted from organising or participating in any unlawful conduct aimed at disrupting the council meetings on either 12 or 13 April 2023;

that a punitive costs order is sought against the Speaker for his unlawful conduct necessitating the urgent court application.

Since filing our urgent court papers the Speaker of Council has called the meetings for 12 and 13 April 2023 as directed by the petitions, and this is undoubtedly a product of our legal papers and their prospects of success. We will continue to litigate to ensure that the meetings are not disrupted and that any person who attempts to do so is held in contempt of court.

The multi-party coalition will not tolerate the ongoing unlawful conduct of the ANC, EFF and their partners in the City of Tshwane Council which continues to try to frustrate the business of the residents of Tshwane in order to regain control of the City. With the failure of the efforts to do so through programmes of vote buying, it appears that these parties now act as agents of Panyaza Lesufi to create the environment for the City to be placed under administration.

All political parties in our multi-party coalition will jointly litigate in this matter as co-applicants as we continue to work together to provide stable and effective coalition governance in the capital city of our country.

Issued by Cornè Mulder on behalf of Multi-party Coalition, 5 April 2023