MyPE

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Legal pressure forces CoGTA MEC to decide against NMB administration

By

Dear MyPE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has been vindicated in its decision to take legal action regarding the threat of administration and the election of a Mayor in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), MEC Xolile Nqatha, has bowed to legal pressure from the DA and has confirmed that he no longer plans to dissolve the Nelson Mandela Bay Council.

Last week Friday the DA submitted an urgent application in the Port Elizabeth High Court, to have the court compel the Nelson Mandela Bay Speaker, ANC Cllr Buyelwa Mafaya, to call a council meeting.

This followed after letters served on the Speaker, as well as MEC Nqatha, by our attorneys of record went unanswered.

The letter to Cllr Mafaya requested that she call an urgent council meeting to elect a new mayor, appoint a qualified and competent Acting City Manager and address the concerns of National Treasury. The meeting must also discuss the letter from MEC Nqatha to the self-styled “interim” Mayor, Cllr Thsonono Buyeye, wherein he states his intention of placing the Metro under administration.

The letter to MEC Nqatha requested clarity on what aspects of section 139(1) he intends taking with regards to placing the Metro under administration, as well as informing him of the letter to Cllr Mafaya.

MEC Nqatha has now responded to our court application and has committed to also issuing a directive that will order Cllr Mafaya, to call a council meeting to elect a Mayor.

If the Speaker and MEC had answered our letters requesting that these matters be addressed, there would have been no need to launch an urgent application in the High Court in the first place.

We have, however, decided to continue with our application on a non-urgent basis, as history has proven that we cannot trust any commitments made by Cllr Mafaya or MEC Nqatha.

The matter will now no longer be heard on Tuesday, 11 August 2020, but will be moved to the normal court roll for a future date.

The DA will continue to fight to save our City from the ANC-led coalition of corruption. We need to put a stop to the financial ruin and service delivery collapse that has ensued on their watch.

We remain committed to taking Nelson Mandela Bay forward again.

Regards

Cllr Nqaba Bhanga
DA EC Provincial Leader and NMB Mayoral Candidate

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Port Elizabethan

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