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The Democratic Alliance has brought a Motion of No Confidence (MONC) against the Speaker of Sol Plaatje municipality, Cllr Nomazizi Maputle.

The Speaker’s failure to effectively chair council meetings and ensure compliance with the Council Code of Conduct, rules and orders is detrimental to the effective functioning of Sol Plaatje.

In essence, the Speaker is preventing council and committees from getting to their core business of ensuring that service delivery is happening. Residents therefore continue to experience prolific potholes, water cuts, electricity blackouts other than loadshedding, rubbish piling up on the streets and sewage spills.

Reasons stated for the MONC include the following:

1. The Speaker previously cancelled a council meeting to attend to a leaking pipe in Roodepan. The leak was old. Council is also not responsible for physical repairs. The undue cancellation prevented Council from carrying out its duties.

2. The Speaker prevented council from fulfilling its role in the process of the appointment of senior managers by denying council access to crucial information, including the presentation of candidates’ Curriculum Vitas, before the appointment of the acting Executive Director for Infrastructure was put to an illegitimate vote.

3. The composition of committees has been skewed in favour of the ANC who, with just over 50 percent of council, has between 60 and 75 percent of committee members on most committees. A number of political parties are not represented on committees at all. This is contrary to the spirit of multiparty democracy and in contravention of the Standard Rules of Order.

4. The Speaker further declined to allow the matter pertaining to the controversial attendance of councillors at the 2022 municipal games, to be raised in council. This, after irregularities justify an investigation and the submission of a report, in terms of the Municipal Systems Act.

The MONC will serve before an Ordinary Council Meeting on Wednesday, 26 April 2023. The DA has no faith in Maputle to take Sol Plaatje forwards. We hope that all Sol Plaatje councillors will put the residents of Kimberley first, by removing her from this position of influence which is being abused to serve the needs of the ruling party, to the detriment of the people of Sol Plaatje.

Issued by Heinrich Pieterse, Cllr - DA Caucus Leader, Sol Plaatje Municipality