Buffalo City Metro (BCM) manager Andile Fani has 48 hours to prepare for battle with his detractors on the city council, led by mayor Zukiswa Ncitha.
Yesterday, Ncitha and two other co-accused in the Mandela funeral funds court case – speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele and leading ANC councillor Sindiswa Gomba – were back in their seats to preside over the top table and hold the floor during another raucous sitting of a special city council meeting at the Border Conference Centre in Abbotsford.
The legal fight between Fani and the mayor continues. Papers obtained yesterday show Fani is seeking a high court order setting aside the council’s April 29 decision to investigate and suspend him, arguing it was irregular, irrational and unconstitutional.
At last Tuesday’s meeting, while the three politicians were in court defending themselves from accusations they were interfering with a key witness, Fani was in good spirits as he held the top table at the start of the sitting.
That meeting ended in disarray with a decision to put off tabling the report until the next sitting.
Yesterday it was different.
Fani looked subdued and, once, mopped his face, as Ncitha, with Simon-Ndzele by her side looking confident, pushed ahead with her “exigency” report.
Amid shouts of “order” and angry statements from opposition councillors, and two adjournments, Ncitha obtained a position from the ruling ANC caucus to give Fani 48 hours until noon tomorrow before the next special sitting which would only discuss his matter.
The meeting started with a bang, dealing immediately with whether Ncitha’s report on Fani’s suspension should be tabled.
In her opening remarks, Simon-Ndzele said: “We were not present in the last council meeting. We had a warrant of arrest , that is why we were not part of the meeting.
“In reconvening the meeting we have communicated with organisational support on how we deal with issues convening these meetings.”
Ncitha’s report into Fani was prompted by allegations of tender box tampering and of failing to inform Ncitha of a national Treasury investigation into allegations of irregularities in the management of the metro’s finances.
On April 29, Ncitha gave Fani seven days to argue why he should not be suspended for misconduct.
However, charges of intimidation of a witness were then brought against Ncitha, Simon-Ndzele and Gomba.
Yesterday, DA members made it clear they would be “recusing” themselves from the sitting if the “strictly confidential” items on pink paper were admitted.
DA BCM caucus chairman Terence Fritz said angrily: “We made it clear we won’t entertain exigency items because this is a special council meeting. We will only entertain those in the books we have from the last meeting.”
ANC ward councillor Monwabisi Mahodi said: “Can this report please be circulated to the council so we do not discuss something we do not know the contents of.”
After reaching a deadlock, two brief adjournments were taken, and, based on the decision of the ANC caucus, the by-then 57-strong council resolved to circulate the “pink paper exigency report” among councillors and gave them 48 hours to “consult” with it.
Fani asked to be excused soon after but returned after half and hour. The mayor also left briefly. — siphem@dispatch.co.za / mikel@dispatch.co.za
Gloves off in BCM’s battle of bosses
Yesterday, Ncitha and two other co-accused in the Mandela funeral funds court case – speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele and leading ANC councillor Sindiswa Gomba – were back in their seats to preside over the top table and hold the floor during another raucous sitting of a special city council meeting at the Border Conference Centre in Abbotsford.
The legal fight between Fani and the mayor continues. Papers obtained yesterday show Fani is seeking a high court order setting aside the council’s April 29 decision to investigate and suspend him, arguing it was irregular, irrational and unconstitutional.
At last Tuesday’s meeting, while the three politicians were in court defending themselves from accusations they were interfering with a key witness, Fani was in good spirits as he held the top table at the start of the sitting.
That meeting ended in disarray with a decision to put off tabling the report until the next sitting.
Yesterday it was different.
Fani looked subdued and, once, mopped his face, as Ncitha, with Simon-Ndzele by her side looking confident, pushed ahead with her “exigency” report.
Amid shouts of “order” and angry statements from opposition councillors, and two adjournments, Ncitha obtained a position from the ruling ANC caucus to give Fani 48 hours until noon tomorrow before the next special sitting which would only discuss his matter.
The meeting started with a bang, dealing immediately with whether Ncitha’s report on Fani’s suspension should be tabled.
In her opening remarks, Simon-Ndzele said: “We were not present in the last council meeting. We had a warrant of arrest , that is why we were not part of the meeting.
“In reconvening the meeting we have communicated with organisational support on how we deal with issues convening these meetings.”
Ncitha’s report into Fani was prompted by allegations of tender box tampering and of failing to inform Ncitha of a national Treasury investigation into allegations of irregularities in the management of the metro’s finances.
On April 29, Ncitha gave Fani seven days to argue why he should not be suspended for misconduct.
However, charges of intimidation of a witness were then brought against Ncitha, Simon-Ndzele and Gomba.
Yesterday, DA members made it clear they would be “recusing” themselves from the sitting if the “strictly confidential” items on pink paper were admitted.
DA BCM caucus chairman Terence Fritz said angrily: “We made it clear we won’t entertain exigency items because this is a special council meeting. We will only entertain those in the books we have from the last meeting.”
ANC ward councillor Monwabisi Mahodi said: “Can this report please be circulated to the council so we do not discuss something we do not know the contents of.”
After reaching a deadlock, two brief adjournments were taken, and, based on the decision of the ANC caucus, the by-then 57-strong council resolved to circulate the “pink paper exigency report” among councillors and gave them 48 hours to “consult” with it.
Fani asked to be excused soon after but returned after half and hour. The mayor also left briefly. — siphem@dispatch.co.za / mikel@dispatch.co.za
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