The South Gauteng High Court on Wednesday instructed the West Rand’s Mogale City Local Municipality to reinstate 40 dismissed ANC and EFF councillors in council.
The order has effectively revitalised the ANC and EFF’s motion to remove DA Mayor Tyrone Gray.
The ANC approached the court on an urgent basis.
Judge Meyer ordered the city to allow the councillors to be part of Wednesday’s sitting.
She further instructed the municipality to reply by 17 July to why the order should not be made final.
Gauteng Cogta MEC Mzi Khumalo and ANC provincial secretary Thembinkosi ‘TK’ Ncisa were in the public gallery on Wednesday.
Speaker sought legal advice
The ANC and EFF alliance is at loggerheads with the DA, after speaker Jacqueline Pannall fired more than half of the council’s members for skipping meetings.
Mogale City has 77 seats – 31 are held by the ANC and 11 by the EFF. The DA has 25 seats.
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The ANC and the red berets skipped follow-up special council meetings, with their absence leaving the adjustment budget and other matters hanging, because there was no quorum to pass it through.
Pannal postponed last week’s meeting as the saga over the fired councillors raged on, saying she would seek legal advice on the matter.
Khumalo accused Pannall of not following due processes when she decided to expel the councillors.
Gray facing the chop
The axe was set to fall on Gray, Pannall, and council whip Lesego Lekoto last week, as the ANC and EFF continue to dismantle DA coalitions at hung councils.
At the West Rand District Municipality, the ANC and EFF alliance partnership ousted West Rand City ex-mayor Hullet Hild, a DA councillor.
Thabiso Bovungana of the African Independent Congress (AIC) was elected to replace him during a special sitting in Randfontein.
Hild was voted out along with the whip of council, Alme Swart. The EFF’s Munyai was elected speaker a few days ago, replacing DA’s Gerhad Kruger.
The DA took over Mogale City after receiving EFF votes after the 2021 polls.
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