Cape Town - Junior mayor Sinovuyo Mankayi and junior chief whip Sibongiseni Sigodi were expelled from the Junior City Council (JCC) programme after they were photographed at the ANC Kader Asmal Memorial Lecture in Cape Town on October 20, four days before the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.
But councillor Benedicta van Minnen, custodian of the JCC, said a disciplinary hearing took place on September 13 after information came to light that the two actively participated in party politics and posted images of their participation in overtly political activities on social media platforms.
“At the disciplinary hearing, the two JCC members conceded to the allegation and apologised. They agreed to adhere to the requirement to avoid becoming involved in party-political activities. However, it was brought to the attention of my office through a complaint by other JCC members that the two JCC members mentioned above continued to defy the code of conduct despite agreeing to adhere to it,” Van Minnen said.
ANC City council chief whip Thandi Makasi said the DA was of the view that by attending the memorial lecture the JCC members broke the non-partisan rule of the JCC.
“This is not only a gross misunderstanding of non-partisanship but suspending these children on this basis is a crass and crude act that is preposterous, offensive and illegal.
"Non-partisanship or partisanship does not arise in a meeting of a political party or in being photographed with leaders of a political party. It only arises inside the Junior City Council or inside a neutral space where decisions that may be taken may be biased towards a particular political group,” Makasi said.
Mankayi, who is also part of Congress of SA Students (Cosas), said he attended the lecture in his personal capacity.
“I don't understand why our convener decided to end our membership of this council. The ANC spokesperson tagged us in a picture on social media. So my assumption is that the City's leadership saw this and decided to terminate our membership.
"I don’t understand how they can say we brought the JCC into disrepute. I wonder if they would have said the same thing if it were a DA event. But we'll take this matter further.”
Makasi said they would be taking legal steps in order for the suspension to be reversed and these pupils to be reinstated.
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