ANC contesting election of Garden Route mayor

SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - The legality of the election of new political leadership in the Garden Route District Council is being questioned by two opposition parties, the ANC and PBI.

The election and inauguration of a new mayor, deputy mayor and council whip on Friday 5 July took place uncontested after the ANC and PBI walked out.

During the meeting, the opposition objected that it had not been called according to the rules of order and the inauguration should not proceed. Sufficient notice had not been given and as a result, nine ANC councillors were not able to attend.

ANC chief whip Cllr Nthabiseng Lichaba said councillors received their agendas only the day before the meeting and only then became aware that the inauguration of leadership was on the agenda.

A notice of the meeting was sent out on 3 July in which no urgent reasons for the meeting were stated, according to Lichaba.

The ANC caucus on Monday 8 July in a statement said they believe all the decisions taken at the meeting were invalid.

The matter would be reported to Local Government MEC Anton Bredell and his intervention would be requested. "ANC regional structure will also take this matter on legal review," read the statement.

Speaker maintains legality of meeting

In a statement on Wednesday, Speaker Georlene Wolmarans maintained that the meeting had indeed been called according to the rules of order if the rules are considered in their totality.

She said council secretary Adv Sinekaya Maqekeni had confirmed this. According to Rule 10, council was notified three days before the meeting.

"Rule 7(4)(b) specifies that if a matter is regarded as urgent, the Speaker must indicate the matter to be dealt with at the special council meeting and provide reasons for urgency.

"The reasons were included under the risks of the agenda items. The GRDM followed this procedure, notifying councillors on July 3, 2024, for the meeting scheduled on July 5, 2024."

She said rule 11(a) provides that the Speaker may determine, on reasonable grounds, that a special council meeting is an emergency meeting. "In such cases, the specified time periods do not need to be complied with. The urgency of electing the executive mayor and deputy executive mayor, amongst others, necessitated calling the special council meeting within the stipulated timeframe."

She said the agenda for the meeting was also provided to councillors in accordance with established procedures.

It was urgent to elect a mayor as there are specific governance functions allocated to the position.

ALSO READ: New GRDM mayor to implement financial 'diet approach'

Speaker Georlene Wolmarans.