Four council meetings and still no mayor in Modimolle-Mookgophong

Issued by Desiree van der Walt MP – DA Political Head for the Waterberg Constituency
01 Dec 2021 in Press Statements

The Democratic Alliance is deeply concerned by the ANC’s tactics to stifle and delay the municipality’s election of a Mayor and Chief Whip as well as to allow the election of district delegates in order to constitute the Waterberg District Council.

The ANC obtained 14 seats, the DA retained their 7 seats, the Freedom Front Plus obtained 3 seats and the EFF has 4 seats in this hung council.

ANC councillors were absent at the first council meeting on Friday the 19th of November. The reason provided by the ANC was that their National Executive Committee (NEC) had not mandated the appointments.

On Monday the 22nd, the election of a speaker was a tie and the meeting was then reconvened the following day where there would be a second vote. The ANC then claimed in the meeting that there was a spoilt ballot, despite the IEC confirming it was a valid ballot. The meeting was then adjourned by the acting Municipal Manager and since then, the ANC caucus in the municipality has attempted to delay the process. 

Yesterday, the council met and elected a Speaker and the municipality’s Executive Committee members. After a tied vote for mayor and just before the flip of a coin for the election of the Mayor could take place, it was disrupted by a briefing by SALGA and the Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA). The meeting was then adjourned until Thursday 2 December with no consultation whatsoever.

It is very worrying that the process to elect the mayor has been so protracted and has led to municipal staff spending most of their days in council meetings at the expense of service delivery to the people of the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality.

The DA remains committed to ensuring improved service delivery, sound financial management and putting the people of Modimolle-Mookgophong first. We hope the fifth council meeting on Thursday will result in the election of a Mayor so that the council and municipality can get back to their main purpose of ensuring good services for residents.