The Speaker of Tshwane council, Mncedi Ndzwanana, has been accused of flouting council rules by “illegally” allowing ActionSA’s motion of insourcing of security guards to be tabled during the Thursday council sitting.
Ndzwanana, a sole councillor for African Transformation Movement, was told by councillors that he should have ordered ActionSA to bring back its motion after three months from the date the EFF’s motion on the same subject was dismissed in March.
The speaker, however, decided to entertain ActionSA’s motion, which also proposed for a feasibility study to be conducted with a view to assess the effectiveness of insourcing in relation to the City’s financial sustainability.
Municipal manager Johann Mettler has been tasked with conducting the study, making a business case and presenting it to the mayoral committee before it can be tabled in council in June.
The motion by ActionSA was passed with 109 votes supported by the multiparty coalition partners, with the EFF and ActionSA opposed to it.
During the same council meeting, the EFF also proposed a motion of insourcing of security guards, but Ndzwanana refused that it be tabled because its proposer – EFF chief whip Godwin Ratikwane – was not inside the chamber to read it out.
Ratikwane eventually reappeared and was said to be in the loo at the time the speaker called him.
In protest of Ndzwanana’s decision, both the EFF and ANC councillors vowed to prevent reports on the agenda from serving in council until the motion was tabled.
But Ndzwanana refused to budge. The meeting descended into chaos with accusations levelled against the speaker for being inconsistent with the application of council rules.
MMC for Human Settlements Ofentse Madzebatela earlier on remarked that the EFF must wait for three months before it could table a motion of insourcing after its bid to do so was dismissed in March.
That was countered by the ANC chief whip Aaron Maluleka, who called for Madzebatela to be consistent with his request in light of ActionSA’s motion on the same subject tabled out of keeping with the waiting period of three months.
Maluleka also told the speaker: “You started with an illegal activity of allowing that motion of the DA and its majorettes (coalition partners, which include ActionSA) and that motion was listened to. Therefore, continue with the illegality because that’s what you did initially. You allowed the motion of the DA to be presented when there was a motion dismissed about the same subject a month ago.”
In his defence, Ndzwanana said he raised the issue of legality regarding the three-month waiting period prior to a council sitting with the chief whips of the EFF and ActionSA.
He said he was told that the EFF motion has been amended and different from the one tabled in March.
ActionSA caucus leader Jackie Mathabathe said the feasibility study “will delineate the roadmap towards a new era of decreased reliance on contracted services, minimising engagements with tenderpreneurs and restoring the dignity of security and cleaning personnel within the City”.
“ActionSA firmly believes that insourcing is not only a practical measure for upholding the dignity of these workers but also a strategic approach to safeguarding critical municipal infrastructure. This initiative underscores the party's unwavering commitment to fostering a work environment that champions the rights, welfare and respect of all employees,” he said.
Pretoria News