By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
City of Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse has served papers on the city council in an attempt to stop Thursday’s sitting from proceeding.
On Sunday, her lawyers wrote to City of Johannesburg Speaker Colleen Makhubele, informing them that they would launch an urgent court interdict to challenge the tabling of the motion.
“We’ve got rules in council and whatever we do we are subjected to those rules, we need to align ourselves accordingly and unfortunately the speaker has a tendency to flout rules and when she does we must point it out because then the outcome becomes illegal and we’re back to square one.
“When we defeat the motion or whether or not it passes or whatever the outcome is it has to be legal, it has to be convincing and held before any court of law and that is what we’re doing. We are upholding law and order in our council and making sure there’s true democracy.”
According to the papers served on Speaker, Phalatse sought to review and set aside the programming committee meeting held on 28 October, and the decisions taken at the meeting as being unlawful; as well as to aside the notice calling an extraordinary council meeting for Thursday.
The ANC in Johannesburg has brought a new motion of no confidence against the Democratic Alliance (DA) official following her recent reinstatement as mayor.
Phalatse returned to the helm of the City last week, after the Johannesburg High Court ruled in her favour and set aside the election of ANC Joburg regional chair, Dada Morero as the new mayor.
The ANC, however, has chosen not to appeal the court ruling and has decided to embark on another motion of no confidence process.
The matter has been placed as an item of the City of Joburg’s agenda ahead of an extraordinary council meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Phalatse meanwhile said only the DA would be able to resolve Johannesburg residents’ water woes. Rand Water has implemented level-2 water restrictions across the city.
“Not only have you had to contend with the worst year of load shedding since the first scheduled blackouts in 2007. You’ve also had to live with an unstable supply of water. This is not the Johannesburg we want our children to grow up in. The Democratic Alliance will not allow it.”
Phalatse said the “rightful committee” was back where it belonged and “picking up where we left off”.
“The task of saving Johannesburg continues,” she said.
“Before the coup by the ANC, the multiparty government made significant progress in undoing decades of neglect of our water system.”
She said the ANC’s decision to place JoJo tanks and boreholes across the city was “a plaster to heal a severe wound”.
Phalatse said: Plans for a new connection from Rand Water to supplement supply to critical bulk water areas in Joburg are under way. Sadly, however, the problem of ANC maladministration remains with our bulk water supplier Rand Water. This entity has failed in the maintenance of infrastructure, which now impacts its ability to pump water.
She added that the municipality had invested R930 million in water supply and sewer infrastructure. The City had also started replacing asbestos pipes and upgrading the Crosby and Brixton reservoirs, she said.