Johnathan Paoli
ActionSA announced on Monday its decision to temporarily withdraw the intended motion of no confidence against Johannesburg Mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, scheduled to take place on Thursday.
ActionSA National Chairperson, Michael Beaumont, said despite the need for an expanded membership of the Multi-Party Charter and the PA’s willingness to bring their seats to the arrangement, the DA’s action has crippled an important attempt at toppling the current regime.
“If their commitment to remove the ANC and keep the EFF out does not extend to working with the PA, the DA had every opportunity to vote on an issue-by-issue basis. Instead, they have elected to facilitate the continuation of the very thing they purport to prevent – an ANC and EFF government,” Beaumont said.
The party said due to the DA’s refusal to work with the PA, letters were sent to party leaders, confirming their refusal to engage with the current motion, even proposing a change to the proposition of dissolving the council.
Trouble has been brewing between the two parties, since its inception until during negotiations of the Multi-Party Charter itself.
During negotiations, ActionSA demanded a written promise by the DA not to engage in any coalition politics with neither the ANC nor the EFF. This had arisen in the wake of rumours surrounding the possibility of the DA ditching smaller parties and forming a government with the ANC should the opportunity present itself.
Furthermore, despite the need for more members into the former Moonshot Pact, the DA has become exceedingly aggressive towards the PA and expressly rejected any form of coalition politics with them.
This follows the PA’s decision earlier this year to not support a motion by the DA to remove the Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Gary van Niekerk, and remain a part of the coalition it holds over the Eastern Cape metro with the ANC, EFF and National Alliance.
Without the support of the DA, the proposed motion of no confidence would not pass the minimum threshold for a successful process.
The EFF have increasingly expressed doubts over the success of the DA’s intended plans to dissolve the council, and called into question the level of support the motion might enjoy from the South African people.
EFF President Julius Malema said that the City of Johannesburg has been stable since the EFF and ANC joined forces with other political organisations, such as the PA and Al Jama-ah.
“There’s no DA that is going to dissolve Johannesburg. If Steenhuisen’s life is dissolved, he must not think that is going to happen in Johannesburg. Johannesburg is stable,” Malema said.
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