Joburg Mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse's Job Safe For Now As Programming Committee Withdraws Motion of No Confidence

• A motion of no confidence tabled against Joburg Mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse has been withdrawn
• Phalatse says the multi-party government has welcomed the committee's decision to scrap the motion because would have been illegal
• Some South Africans believe that Phalatse's relief will be short-lived because it is only a matter of time before she gets voted out

JOHANNESBURG - The City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse, gets to keep her job a little longer. A motion of no confidence that was originally tabled for Thursday, 3 October, was withdrawn.

The African National Congress-led coalition planned to oust Phalatse a week after she was reinstated due to a ruling by the Gauteng High Court.

The High Court found that her removal was illegal and unlawful. The latest motion against Phalatse was withdrawn by the programming committee, led by Speaker Colleen Makhubele and was removed from Thursday's agenda, according to News24.

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ANC's motion of no confidence approved, seeks to remove Mayor Mpho Phalatse

As it stands, the ANC-led coalition has an advantage over the Democratic Alliance's (DA) multi-party government, as the ANC holds 140 of the 270 votes. The ANC is confident that Phalatse will be removed as mayor soon enough.

According to SABC News, the multi-party government in Johannesburg has welcomed the withdrawal of the motion. In a statement issued by Phalatse, she says the motion of no confidence was tabled illegally.

Phalatse referenced Rule 92(1), which states that a motion is admissible when a matter is not before a court of law.

"Therefore, the motion of no confidence in the Executive Mayor was invalid, given that that motion contained a matter that currently before the courts," said Phalatse.

Phalatse added that the ANC only wants to remove her in an attempt to control the City of Joburg's R77,3 billion budget.

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Mayor Mpho Phalatse's first council meeting went off without a hitch, says it's good to be back

South Africans react

@bigkoostar said:

"Before a court of law? Wasn't this matter resolved by court hence you went back as Mayor? How can it be considered before courts when a judgement was issued and never challenged?"

@Thabokh03038315 said:

"If I was you, I was going to stop being anti-ANC in everything u say, ask Mmusi, Mashaba, Mazibuko, and the rest will end in tears; you don't have the numbers. So rather do your things quietly because you can be removed any time you don't have the numbers.'

Mpho Phalatse chairs first council meeting since being reinstated as mayor of JHB, says it’s good to be back

Briefly News previously reported that the Executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Mpho Phalatse, feels right at home being back at the helm of the metro.

The mayor said it felt good to be back in the office in a short statement at her first council meeting on Thursday, 27 October.

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NPA nabs former Eskom boss Koko, his wife and stepdaughter for state-capture related corruption

Phalatse was reinstated as the executive mayor of Johannesburg after the Gauteng High Court ruled that her ousting during a motion of no confidence last month was unlawful, SABC News reported.

Source: Briefly News