By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The City of Johannesburg’s leadership will remain in place after the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) motion to dissolve the council failed on Thursday.
Out of 270 councillors, one-hundred-and-sixty-five councillors voted against the motion, while 63 councillors voted in favour of the motion, with no abstentions.
The DA says the city is facing a leadership crisis after the removal of council speaker Colleen Makhubele and the appointment reversal of City Manager Floyd Brink.
Brink has since been reinstated on Wednesday despite a high court order that reversed his appointment.
DA’s Johannesburg caucus leader, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, says the decision to appoint Brink as city manager shows a blatant disregard for both legal mandates and ethical governance.
“The residents deserve a government that upholds justice and acts in their best interest, not one that perpetuates a cycle of contempt and disregard for the law. We propose a constructive path, advocating for policies that ensure transparent and accountable governance.”
City of Joburg MMC and ANC councillor Loyiso Masuko says the DA wants the city not to have any administration.
“The DA actually saw it fit to have a city that didn’t have leadership so that they could assume and absorb the powers of administration. You’ll see that when I speak about the institutional review.
“The DA also continued to absorb powers by not wanting the city to have a city manager. Instead, they block a progressive process that could allow us to have a city manager so that they can continue to internally do their own things unattended to by the administration.”
The party needed two-thirds of the vote or at least 180 councillors to support them for the motion to be successful.