The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, councillor Herman Mashaba, has survived another Motion of No Confidence filed against him.
The proceedings took place at the Johannesburg City Council’s offices on Thursday, 22 August.
Mashaba’s initial remarks were that hooliganism would not intimidate him, and it appears his confidence was justified. After several interruptions, two adjournments (requested by the EFF and the ANC) and a question-and-answer session from the relevant parties, the ANC withdrew the motion against the Mayor.
The DA responded promptly with enthusiasm and pride, stating that they have confidence in their mayor. DA spokesperson, Solly Malatsi, even claimed that the ANC had wasted the people of Johannesburg’s time by filing the motion, only to withdraw at the last minute.
While the reason for the withdrawal is uncertain, especially because the ANC had been so confident in their success, Malatsi said it is most likely because the opposing party did not have the necessary support for the motion to be successful. Herman Mashaba reiterated this point in his own statement and added that the ANC did not have confidence in their own Motion of No Confidence.
It seems @MYANC in Joburg had no confidence in their own motion of no confidence… pic.twitter.com/wPU42D3n3w
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) August 22, 2019
Despite the hundreds of ANC supporters outside of the council building, many community members seemed to be in support of the Mayor, much to the delight of the DA.
“The DA is pleased by the overwhelming support from the people of the City of Gold for Mayor Mashaba’s administration,” said Malatsi in his statement. “Since Mayor Mashaba and the multi-party government took over the reins of the City, it has thrived despite the challenges it faces.”
The ANC will retable the motion in September, but the DA said that they are unmoved and will remain committed to building “One South Africa for All,” and making a tangible change in the country.
While there was an overall sense of pride from the DA, Mashaba mentioned his displeasure with the behavior of the ANC, who caused many disruptions and had councillors leave the proceedings without permission to do so.
These actions allegedly prevented the council from addressing critical agenda items aimed at providing service delivery to residents.
“The truth of the matter is that the ANC does not care. Their only goal is their desperate effort to regain access to the public monies that they looted with impunity for decades,” said Mashaba. He ended his statement by saying that the ANC’s actions have shown that they are only concerned with themselves and their “petty politics.”
