Last week ActionSA tabled motions of no confidence in the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Speaker and Chief Whip of the KwaDukuza Municipality. Should the motions succeed, it will effectively serve to remove the ANC from the running of the municipality.
The tabling of these motions takes place at a time where a number of political parties are in talks to establish an alternative multi-party coalition government in KwaDukuza.
ActionSA resolved in May that it would submit motions of no confidence in these political office bearers of the municipality. This was submitted after a series of failures of governance, including illegal contract extensions, failure to manage key infrastructure and the refusal to elect key oversight positions like the Municipal Public Accounts Committee.
The residents of KwaDukuza rejected ANC governance in local government elections held in November 2021, reducing the ANC from 64% to 49% after years of service delivery failure and corruption. After initially depending upon the support of one or two other parties, the ANC now stands alone and without a majority to survive these motions.
ActionSA stands firmly on the position that the removal of the ANC from government in KwaDukuza is a project that must succeed when the Council meets late this month on 28 July. While coalition talks continue, ActionSA cannot allow the ANC to continue misgoverning KwaDukuza municipality as a result of our inaction. Hopefully this will inject a level of urgency that is necessary in the talks.
While ActionSA appears to have the support of a number of political parties for these motions, it remains to be seen whether all political parties will vote to remove the ANC from governance of the municipality. We express our deepest respect to those parties that stand committed to support these motions, because ActionSA cannot achieve this alone.
On 28 July one of two events will have taken place. Either the residents of KwaDukuza will either have witnessed the historic removal of the ANC from their municipality for the first time or they will know which political parties in the Council voted to sustain the ANC reign over their municipality. ActionSA contends that either of these outcomes is necessary for the future of politics in the region.
