- The war for political power in the City of Johannesburg intensifies as seven parties open a criminal case against the African National Congress (ANC)
- The parties allege that the ANC attempted to bribe two councillors to garner support for a motion of no confidence against Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse
- Several minority parties seek to remove Phalatse as mayor in the hopes that ANC will regain power in Johannesburg
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JOHANNESBURG - The fight for political power is intensifying in the City of Johannesburg as seven political parties have opened a case of corruption and bribery against the African National Congress (ANC).
The parties are part of a Democratic Alliance (DA)-led coalition currently running the city. The coalition has alleged that the ANC offered a R150 000 bribe to some councillors in the coalition.
The band of parties allege that the bribe was aimed at garnering support for the removal of Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse in a motion of no confidence, SABC News reports.
The seven political parties include the DA, ActionSA, FFPlus, Patriotic Alliance (PA), IFP, ACDP and Cope.
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Two councillors from the IFP and PA provided the police with affidavits that claim they were approached just before the motion of no confidence against the DA council speaker, Vasco Da Gama, on Thursday, 1 September.
The motion of no confidence against Phaalatse is the brainchild of several minority parties, which are mostly not part of the coalition but want to see the ANC return to power.
After receiving some success with the removal of Vasco Da Gama as council speaker, the minority party grouping, which includes the AIC, ATM, Cope, UDM, PAC and Al Jama-ah, has decided to remove Phalatsa similarly.
According to New24, the acting speaker for Cope, Colleen Makhubela, said the DA-led coalition is failing to uplift black people in Johannesburg.
Makhubele's support for the motion of no confidence against Da Gama surprised many as her party is part of the DA-led coalition. Cope has since distanced itself from Makhubela.
Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem said that Makhubela's support for the motion of no confidence that removed Da Gama was not a mandate from the party.
The DA-led coalition is now on the offensive and the case of corruption and bribery in reportedly a bid to stop the motion of no confidence in Phaalatse.
South Africans react to the Political war in the city of Johannesburg
Social media users are tired of the political games the parties involved in the struggle for power in Johannesburg are playing. Here are some comments:
@mix_upchick commented:
"Why dont the ANC approach the DA with envelopes? Guess they only targeted the morally questionable parties/representatives! Awesome to see the (Good) Multi-Party Coalition showing a united front."@zenzo62189823 added:
"Anc is dead they forcing to govern by force. Don't worry abt ths coalition we going to finish the job in 2024."@nowhatsyourna10 asked:
"ANC are pure immoral and hungry hyenas nje. Kodwa nina futhi why are your councillors bribable?"@Temba58565874 said:
"City of JHB cannot continue in this fashion, drastic steps must be taken in order to alleviate the situation."@sewawam tweeted:
"This politician don’t care about the citizens this is delaying service in the province we are suffering because of politician playing games with our lives live the mayor to do her job please."DA accused ANC of undermining DA-led coalitions over Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams tender scandal
Briefly News previously reported that the Democratic Alliance (DA) had accused the African National Congress (ANC) of sabotaging coalitions, saying that the ANC does not want coalitions in Gauteng to work.
The leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen, made this assertion during a meeting with its coalition partners in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and the City of Johannesburg on Tuesday, 23 August.
The meeting was held after ActionSA claimed it would not defend Tshwane Mayor Randal Williams if he faced a vote of no confidence.
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