JOHANNESBURG - Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba on Thursday said he has found out that the ANC intends to table a motion of no-confidence in his mayorship.
Mashaba said he made "this shocking discovery" through a march to the city "orchestrated by the ANC-aligned wing of Sanco [South African National Civic Organisation]". The mayor said ANC Councillors in Johannesburg also took part in the march.
“The march was attended by ANC top brass such as Geoff Makhubo, current ANC Johannesburg region chairperson, who allegedly also confirmed this to their followers,” said Mashaba, who is a member of the DA, which runs the City with the support of the EFF.
However, Mashaba said earlier this week he met with "true representatives" of Sanco, who distanced themselves from the ANC’s political ploy to unseat him as mayor.
Mashaba, who was elected mayor of Johannesburg on 22 August 2016, said the ANC has been hell-bent from day one to dominate and rule in the City.
He said the motion will no doubt prove that the ANC has been trying to regain power in Johannesburg since he was elected mayor.
Mashaba said these attempts to remove him have taken the form of orchestrated "protests of former Jozi@Work beneficiaries, efforts to destabilise the union environment, weaponising Chapter 9 Institutions and the provincial government against the City, the filing of frivolous criminal charges and prior motions of no-confidence."
The mayor claimed that the reason the ANC wants to take control is because the “taps of corruption and tenderprenuership” have been shut down by the multi-party government’s crackdown on graft.
He said more than 5,000 cases of wrongdoing were under investigation by the City’s anti-corruption unit. Mashaba said those under investigation included five members of the ANC’s former Mayoral Committee being implicated in serious cases.