Pretoria - Scuffles, disruptions, insults and threats marred the first ordinary sitting of the City of Tshwane council under the DA rule on Wednesday, with political parties seeking to draw battle lines and stamp their authority early on.
As tempers flared, Speaker Katlego Matheba was forced to adjourn proceedings after ANC and EFF councillors got involved in a scuffle less than an hour into the meeting, held at the Sammy Marks council chamber.
An analyst has warned that similar scenes should be expected in months to come. However, Professor Lesiba Teffo, of Unisa, said these scenes would not shape South Africa's political landscape.
Teffo said he expected the disruptions to be more frequent, but for a short period. He also lamented the impact they could have on service delivery.
He said the electorate had become politically conscious, and parties that employed these tactics would be found wanting in the long run. “I expect more disruptions to take place, but with maturation, they won’t last long. They will be employed as a short-term tactic by the parties, but will not bear any fruits in the long run as they will not be of any benefit,” Teffo said.
The drama started when an EFF member commented about the racism row that engulfed Pretoria High School for Girls earlier in the week.
The councillor accused the former ANC-led administration of failing to eradicate discrimination in the city. “We applaud the pupils of Pretoria High School for Girls; instead of playing in the playgrounds with their classmates they went out to fight a war that was meant to be fought by the previous regime of the ANC,” the councillor said.
“They’ve been ruling for the past 22 years, but they failed to fight this white supremacy and racism we see in our country.”
The EFF then turned its attention to executive mayor Solly Msimanga and warned him not to rest on his laurels as he too would be held accountable if he failed to act.
“Mayor, make sure that things like those never happen again because, as the EFF, we are going to visit that school and then visit your office and it's not going to be nice. We are not here to massage you mayor; we are here to make sure that things are done properly,” Msimanga was told.
In his own theatrical move, Msimanga held up files containing what he said were five forensic reports and gestured them in the direction of ANC councillors.
He said the files that were in his possession were shedding light on some of the dealings that had taken place under the previous administration.
“Let me explain to the house why there is this boiling thing that is happening across us. You see, I am sitting with reports that are starting to shine some light on some of the dealings that have been taking place,” Msimanga said.
“These are forensic reports that have been suppressed for the longest of time. Believe you me, we are coming. If you think that everything was swept under the carpet you have another thing coming,” warned the mayor, while facing ANC councillors seated on the opposite side of the chamber.
“Some have even turned departments into family organisations. From director level, there are siblings, uncle and three cousins.”
The ANC then challenged Msimanga to support his claims with evidence and urged him to approach the nearest police station if the reports were related to corruption.
ANC caucus leader Mapiti Matsena, not wanting to miss out on the action, picked on the issue of the mayoral committee appointed by the mayor last week.
“As you are aware, mayoral council does not represent the demography of the City of Tshwane. The majority of them are very strong males and it is without women; the DA hasn’t taken into consideration the gender. But the most important thing is that the DA showed the world that it represents a particular section of the community which is the whites,” Matsena said.
He alleged that the administration buckled under pressure from the DA in Cape Town that led to the mayoral committee being predominantly white males.
“They did not take into the consideration that most of the people in the city were black. Within 48 hours, the DA will need to change their candidates,” he said.
Nonetheless, council proceeded and former MMCs Eulanda Mabusela and Nozipho Tyobek-Makeke used the occasion to give a summary of the ANC’s achievements, including new clinics and completion of Giant Stadium in Soshanguve.
But Msimanga disputed their report and said the city under the ANC budgeted R100 million for the stadium, but the cost escalated to about R500m “for a pavilion”.
He said the MMCs should be ashamed of themselves.
Pretoria News