EFF accuses ANC councillors of 'thuggish behaviour' in Ekurhuleni
The EFF in Gauteng has defended the conduct of its members in the Ekurhuleni council following Thursday's chaos.
Fistfight broke out between ANC and EFF councillors during a sitting to hear a motion of no confidence against Ekurhuleni Mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana.
The motion was sponsored by ActionSA, which claimed service delivery in the city has deteriorated since he was elected.
"The city’s finances deteriorate, with cash on hand at record lows. Service delivery grind to a halt as service providers are not paid.
"A waste crisis which continues to plague communities. The mayor ignoring a council resolution on insourcing as well as failing to implement the lifestyle audit, "said ActionSA.
In a statement released on Friday, the EFF slammed what it described as the toxic and thuggish behaviour by ANC councillors during the sitting.
It comes amid reports that the ANC had planned to vote in favour of the motion to remove Ngonwana, despite its agreement with the EFF.
The ANC and EFF share five mayoral committee posts each in Ekurhuleni, which were appointed following the election of Ngodwana as mayor in April
It was not the first time the ANC and EFF have been involved in a public spat in the city, with the EFF now claiming the ANC fears the performance of their MMCs could cost the ANC votes during the upcoming elections.
"The EFF in Gauteng commends the resolve of the EFF public representatives in the City of Ekurhuleni Council for insisting on the correct application of rules and refusing to be intimidated by those who believe that ganging up against the EFF suspends the rules of the council.
"The EFF believes the motion tabled by ActionSA must be thoroughly considered and exhausted in Council without intimidation and misuse of the standing orders.
"We applaud the commendable work done by EFF deployees in Ekurhuleni in improving service delivery, stabilizing waste collection, upgrading the city's water and electricity infrastructure, significantly improving revenue collection, settling the majority of debts to contractors and service providers, and maximizing returns on municipal infrastructure," said the EFF in a statement.
The DA believes the only viable solution is for the council to be dissolved.
"DA tabled an amendment to the motion of no confidence calling for the council to be dissolved as we believe the municipality is unable to fulfil its executive obligations in terms of the constitution of this country.
The unabated collapse of service delivery under the watch of the ANC/EFF coalition, coupled with prolonged water outages, failing electrical infrastructure and the dysfunctionality of council has become the norm of the day," said caucus leader Tania Campbell.
The council is expected to reconvene soon to continue on the motion of no-confidence vote.
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