The ANC’s battling Dr WB Rubusana factions disrupted a tense Buffalo City Metro council meeting at the City Hall yesterday with protests erupting in the public gallery.
Scores of supporters of mayor Xola Pakati were in the gallery voicing their opposition to ANC councillors aligned to suspended regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo.
The council meeting got off to a rocky start when more than 10 BCM law enforcement officers arrived to monitor the protesters in the gallery.
Insults were hurled when ANC ward and proportional representation (PR) councillors aligned with Mkolo entered the hall before the meeting started. Mkolo’s name featured in insulting songs.
The councillors who were jeered included deputy mayor Zoliswa Matana, councillor Sindiswa Gomba, ward 8 councillor Ayanda Mapisa, ward 17’s Pumla Yenana-Nonjiwu, and ward 45 councillor Thozamile Norexe.
In retaliation Yenana-Nonjiwu and Mapisa made rude signs with their fingers at the Pakati faction while Matana told them “you are sh***ing”.
They are among 21 so-called “rebel” ANC councillors who faced a disciplinary hearing by the party on Sunday for voting against an ANC caucus decision to appoint Ncumisa Sidukwana as acting city manager for three months.
Instead the rebels – who include mayoral committee member Sindile Toni and councillors Crosby Kolela, Gwebile Gosani, Senduku Maphuka, Mawethu Marata and Nokuphumla Gamnca – voted with opposition parties for the appointment of Nonceba Mbali-Majeng.
In a silent protest, factional supporters pulled out posters while council speaker Alfred Mtsi continued with council business.
One poster demanded: “All councillors who voted with the DA must leave council”. Another read: “Away with DA/ANC councillors away. They were elected by branches not by the PEC ”.
“All ANC/DA councillors must go,” read a third poster.
Ward 24 councillor Zameka Kodwa-Gajula called on Mtsi to urgently deal with the gallery-based protestors’ “abuse” of councillors on the floor.
Mtsi appealed to “our guests” to withdraw the posters.
“It is wrong for you to be doing what you are doing in the gallery. Your part is to simply observe what we are doing here and not cause any distractions.
“Please, we are kindly asking you to refrain from doing so.”
He threatened that they would be dealt with by law enforcement officers.
However, it was not long before the 100 protesters disrupted an audit committee member presenting a report to the council on the Auditor General’s BCM 2015-16 audit.
“We want attention,” they shouted. “They must leave!” and later chanted inside the gallery.
The council had to be adjourned while metro leaders tried to “negotiate” with them.
Two hours later the meeting restarted and the interruptions stopped after the protesters were seen getting takeaways following the chaos.
EFF caucus leader Chumani Matiwane accused Mtsi of being biased in his handling of the situation saying that if it was “ fighters who did that you would have told the police to deal with us”.
“You failed as the speaker to deal with the situation,” he charged.
However, Pakati defended Mtsi and said there was no proof the protesters were ANC members, despite them singing songs in his support.
Although the meeting proceeded, the schism in the ANC reappeared when the DA’s Terence Fritz presented a motion about an alleged R25000 fake workshop attended by ward 7 councillor Clara Morolong-Yekiso, ward 2 councillor Ntombizandile Mhlola, ward 14 councillor Zininzi Mtyingizane and ANC proportional representative councillor Vuyiswa Ethel Mpanza in January.
The Dispatch reported earlier this month that the “fake” event, supposedly hosted by the Department of Social Development, coincided with the ANC’s 105th January 8 anniversary celebrations which were also in Johannesburg.
The DA submitted 21 questions concerning the dodgy deal, which was signed off by Pakati for councillors aligned with his faction.
“When was this invitation received and by whom? What was the content of this invitation and the recorded purpose of the workshop?
“What was the venue for the workshop? If the workshop was not held and investigations have not been carried out by or under the authority of the city manager, why not,” Fritz questioned.
Councillors Luleka Simon-Ndzele and Helen Neale-May called for the answers to be discussed in private and the matter treated as confidential.
Simon-Ndzele cited another Daily Dispatch report where R200000 was spent by the metro on an aborted trip to India.
“We must not be selective,” said Simon-Ndzele.
The trip was paid for in advance, but Matana and Gomba ditched their tickets and bookings and attended the council meeting in which they voted against their party.
Matana demanded that a report on the R250000 “fake workshop” be submitted to council as there was “misuse of public funds”.
Fritz said Simon-Ndzele had no right to dictate to the party which motions they should raise in council. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za