DA's Lawack removed as Nelson Mandela Bay speaker
Nelson Mandela Bay's (NMB) Council Speaker, Jonathan Lawack, has been removed through a motion of no confidence motion.
The motion of no confidence was brought by the United Democratic Movement (UDM) on Monday.
Lawack is a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA) that heads up the coalition government in the metro.
The decision by DA councillor Mbulelo Manyathi to abstain from voting has led to the party’s coalition losing its slim majority.
Manyathi said he took a "sober" decision not to vote in favour of the DA.
"I have personal reasons, and I have discussed those reasons with my leadership within the DA," says Manyathi.
The DA called for a recess to caucus, but opposition parties rejected this.
Following the no confidence vote city manager Johan Mettler, who took over the running of the meeting, said he wanted to obtain legal opinion to advise on the extent of his powers to allow the DA's request to caucus with their m