DA to turn to courts to stop City of Tshwane from being dissolved

The DA in Tshwane is weighing up the option of turning to the courts to interdict the municipality of being dissolved, and has blamed the ANC for deliberately collapsing council meetings as part of an effort to topple the City of Tshwane. 

Briefing the media on Friday, DA mayoral candidate for Tshwane Randall Williams said strategy executed by the ANC always had an end goal in mind – placing of the City under administration.

He alleged the ANC wanted to get its hands on the resources of the municipality through the back door.

READ | City of Tshwane to be placed under administration

“It is in light of these facts, the DA has taken a principled decision to stand up and fight for democracy,” Williams said.

“We have obtained legal advice and will in all probability interdict the dissolution of the municipality. The process followed by Maile and the provincial government is fatally flawed because they have not followed due process.”

The ANC had said on Thursday that the blame for the council’s collapse lied squarely with the DA. 

ALSO READ | ‘We will resist this’ – DA prepares to fight City of Tshwane administration decision

The ANC chairperson in Tshwane, Dr Kgosi Maepa, said the job of an opposition party was to oppose not to govern, saying that the ANC could not be held responsible for the collapsing of the council as it was merely an opposition party.

Maepa likened the walkouts in council to that of the DA’s own walkouts in Parliament, saying the ANC still got the work done and never complained.

“They are complaining because their coalition failed. The DA came without experience, they were unprepared and failed,” he said.

On Thursday morning, Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced the City would be placed under administration, the council dissolved, and by-elections would take place within 90 days of the appointment of administrators.

Among the reasons for this was irregular appointments of senior management, a failure to elect ward committees and unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditure highlighted in audit reports. 

While the City does not have a mayor, mayoral committee or city manager due to failed council sittings unable to deal with these appointments, Williams said the delegated powers of the different departmental heads remained intact as per council resolution and they were assisting with the implantation of service delivery.

READ MORE | ANC and EFF ‘ready for by-elections’ as City of Tshwane placed under administration

Williams said the City had not yet been placed under administration, and the councillors in the capital remained in their positions and would continue to serve their communities.

“The official letters to Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, for consideration, have not yet been served on the DA nor the municipality and to this date and time, the only real correlation to this, is the media statement issued by Maile on Thursday.

“Maile’s intention to meet with staff on Saturday and appointing an administrator is therefore wholly premature in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution.”

“Maile and Gauteng Premier David Makhura are riding roughshod over our Constitution and democracy,” he added.