NEWS & ANALYSIS

Motion against Trollip postponed for two weeks

This follows more than eight hours of bickering, disorderly conduct and chaos

The special council meeting that was supposed to hear motions against Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip, council speaker Jonathan Lawack and chief whip Werner Senekal has been postponed for two weeks.

This follows more than eight hours of bickering, disorderly conduct and chaos that led to several adjournments.

The chaos started almost immediately after the special council meeting started because opposition councillors were not happy with the order of items on the agenda.

The opposition, led by EFF councillor Zilindile Vena, asked for a 20-minute caucus to discuss the issue and the matter was debated for almost an hour.

It ultimately caused the ANC and EFF to walk out, which led to Lawack granting an adjournment so that the parties could caucus.

When the meeting reconvened, an altercation broke out between Vena and DA councillor Rano Kayser as parties entered the council. The chaos from the altercation carried into the meeting.

Eventually, Lawack postponed the special meeting "indefinitely" before he walked out of the council.

'KFC' squabble

The council reconvened at 10:00, but degenerated before the first item could be discussed because the opposition parties wanted the special meeting to proceed instead.

Despite various adjournments and restarts, they were unable to address a single item before lunch.

When the meeting reconvened at 13:00, councillors debated a discussion that they had behind closed doors, to postpone the special council meeting in 14 days' time. This too degenerated into chaos.

At one point, things came to a standstill as Vena had a heated exchange with Patriotic Alliance councillor Marlon Daniels. Vena accused Daniels of saying KFC - a derogatory reference to Cope councillor Siyasanga Sijadu.

Eventually, at 16:00, the council finally agreed to postpone the motion against Trollip and others.

They expedited voting on crucial items on the general council agenda, specifically the passing of the adjustments budget. It was a critical issue for 400 security guards who had been absorbed into the municipality, so that they could be paid in April.

The voting saw the majority of opposition councillors vote in favour of key issues alongside the DA-led coalition, with the exclusion of the six EFF members.

Within 30 minutes, the council had passed all the items and the media and general public were asked to leave so that the council could discuss an item on green paper.

After a further 15 minutes, the council officially adjourned, and councillors who shouted and screamed at each other earlier in the day, were seen leaving full of smiles, shaking hands and wishing each other a happy Easter.

News24