Tlokwe speaker targeted

Following a court ruling upholding the appointment of Annette Combrink as mayor of Tlokwe, the DA in North West has set its sights firmly on the council's speaker, Barei Segotso.

According to the DA, the speaker is refusing to call a council meeting in order to avoid a vote on a motion of no-confidence in her.

"One of the reasons for her reluctance to convene a council meeting is an overdue motion of no-confidence [in her]," said DA North West leader Chris Hattingh.

Judge Neil Tuchten ruled in the DA's favour, declaring valid the July 2 council meeting at which Maphetle Maphetle was ousted as mayor and replaced by Combrink.

However, it was Speaker Segotso who bore the brunt of the judge's ire about the chaos that has since engulfed the Tlokwe municipality, in Potchefstroom, North West.

Last week and yesterday Segotso was singled out by Tuchten and strongly criticised for putting factional ANC interests above those of the council.

The judge also lambastedSegotso's decision to prioritise an ANC disciplinary hearing - held on July 2, in Mahikeng, and called a day earlier - over a council meeting that had long been confirmed.

Segotso had sought to have the July 2 meeting - at which Combrink was voted in as mayor - nullified.

On that day Segotso is said to have attended an ANC meeting instead.

ANC North West spokesman Kenny Morolong said his party would regain control of Tlokwe.

"We are fully confident that the people of Tlokwe will, once again, express their confidence in the ANC," said Morolong.

He said the party respected the judgment of the court.

"We have always held that the election of Combrink was a circumvention of the democratic process. However, we are champions of democratic institutions and respect the judgment."

The court also found that Segotso was not empowered by legislation to cancel or postpone a council meeting indefinitely.

In her affidavit in support of an urgent application to have Maphetle's ousting invalidated, Segotso claimed that she had told her staff by SMS to inform all councillors that the July 2 meeting had been cancelled.

In court last week, Segotso's lawyer, advocate Wim Scholtz, told Judge Tuchten that his client had, in fact, postponed the meeting.

But the court yesterday found that no alternative date had been set for the meeting.

Said Tuchten: "The decision to postpone [the meeting] indefinitely was taken to advance the narrow factional party political interests of the first applicant [Segotso] at the expense of the city of Tlokwe, its citizens and public representatives.

"Even if the first applicant were empowered, all things being equal, to postpone the meeting of July 2 2013 indefinitely, her impermissible purpose or motive in doing so renders her decision invalid."

The judge ordered that the speaker and former mayor Maphetle pay the costs of the court out of their own pockets and vacate the council offices by 10am today.