By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse has filed papers in the Johannesburg high court to have last week’s special council meeting declared unlawful.
Phalatse was booted out in a motion of no confidence that was brought by the opposition parties last Friday.
The ANC’s Dada Morero has taken over the mayoral chain.
But Phalatse, and the DA, maintains the council meeting called by Speaker Colleen Makhubele was illegal.
“The people of the city voted out the ANC for a better alternative and the DA will fight until the bitter end to ensure that their mandate is served,” Phalatse said on Tuesday.
“We will focus our attention on regaining the City of Johannesburg and stop the ANC and its partners in the coalition of corruption from looting the city a second time and again paying no heed to the needs of the residents.”
The multi-party coalition led by the DA consists of ActionSA, COPE, FF+, IFP, PA, ACDP, UIM and ATM.
ActionSA which is part of the multiparty coalition in the city and has been at the forefront of suggesting that the agreement between parties be reconfigured to allow the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) to occupy the Speaker position in Johannesburg’s council, which led to the fallout.
The position has been vacant since the removal of Vasco Da Gama through a motion of no confidence.
However, DA Federal Council chair Helen Zille refused any changes being made in a letter she sent to the coalition technical task team on Sunday. Zille said the reconfiguration of the agreement would lead to the destabilising of the city and shift the focus from the primary goal of the coalition, which was to deliver services to residents.
The coalition partners then held a virtual meeting on Sunday night where they vented their frustrations about the matter to DA leader John Steenhuisen.
Zille’s letter prompted the PA to abandon the coalition and vote with the opposition to install Makhubele.
The matter is expected to be heard on 11 October.