Maile has not consulted the Chief Whip of Tshwane

23 January 2020

The Chief Whip of Council in the City of Tshwane notes the comments of Cooperative Governance MEC, Lebogang Maile, in that a meeting has been arranged with the Chief Whip and Council’s Multi-Party Whippery Committee for next week.

Let it be noted that no such notice has been received, nor any request to issue such notice to convene a meeting of this nature.

The MEC for COGTA has no jurisdiction over the multi-party whippery of the Council of the City of Tshwane, nor the functioning of its committees.

The Office of the Chief Whip has the responsibility of maintaining the discipline of councillors, and asserts that Council has not established any special investigative committee to investigate the conduct of the Speaker of Council, nor has a report served at Council, any of its committees, nor the multi-party whippery into any allegations of misconduct on the Speaker’s behalf.

It is clear that the MEC has overstepped his boundaries by taking punitive disciplinary action against the Speaker of Council without following the rules of natural justice. He has no right to interject himself in the internal processes of the Tshwane Council.

By doing so, the MEC is in violation of the prescripts of the Constitution which confers on municipalities the right to govern, on their own initiative, the local government affairs of their communities, while limiting the national and provincial governments from impeding those rights.

It is clear that the MEC, on behalf of the ANC, has declared open war on the City of Tshwane and its elected leadership, and will stop at nothing to prevent the DA-led administration from continuing to govern in the interest of all of its residents. If the MEC has concerns, he should utilize the legislated and regulated channels as determined by Chapter 3 of the Constitution to engage with the City in a meaningful and co-operative manner.

Issued by Christo van den Heever, Chief Whip Of Council - City of Tshwane, 23 January 2020