Trollip faces new push to remove him as Nelson Mandela Bay mayor

Fresh from his re-election as Democratic Alliance (DA) federal chairman at the weekend‚ Athol Trollip will on Tuesday face yet another push to remove him as Nelson Mandela Bay mayor.

This is the second attempt to debate a motion against Trollip in as many weeks‚ following a special sitting last month which deteriorated into a chaotic screaming match between parties in council‚ The Herald reports.

A major bone of contention in that meeting was the order of agenda as the opposition demanded that the motion to remove speaker Jonathan Lawack be heard first. Doing so would have eliminated the possibility of Lawack‚ a DA councillor‚ casting the deciding vote in the event of a tie in the Trollip vote.

Also on the agenda on Tueday is a motion to remove committee chairpersons and the chief whip Werner Senekal as well as the election of a deputy mayor. However‚ United Front councillor Mkhuseli Mtsila‚ who sponsored the motion to elect the deputy mayor‚ yesterday said he would withdraw it. This follows a deal between the DA and the Patriotic Alliance which could see the PA’s Marlon Daniels be elected deputy mayor in exchange for supporting Trollip.

African National Congress regional secretary Themba Xathula said even though the UF would withdraw its motion‚ his party would continue with its motion to appoint a deputy mayor.

“We’re also continuing with our support of the motion of no confidence in Trollip. It’s a numbers game and [today] we’ll see who comes out on top‚” Xathula said.

What is likely to cement Trollip’s position is a vote from the African Independent Congress (AIC) which made an about turn last month‚ opting to support the mayor to punish the ANC over a separate standoff regarding its constituency in Matatiele.

AIC president Mandla Galo said his party would withdraw its motion to have Lawack removed.

“Our decision still stands. We’re disciplining the ANC in the Eastern Cape.”

Galo said the ANC had failed to deliver on its promise to have Matatiele fall back into KwaZulu-Natal.

Meanwhile‚ Lawack last week rejected a request from the Economic Freedom Fighters - the sponsors of the motion against Trollip - to vote by secret ballot.

The EFF believed that there may have been councillors in the DA who were willing to vote with the opposition against Trollip‚ if they were given the option of anonymity.

Yesterday‚ Senekal said the party’s entire caucus supported the mayor.

United Democratic Movement (UDM) councillor Mongameli Bobani said his party was more confident than ever that Trollip would be removed.

Bobani said there were 120 councillors who represented constituencies that the DA-led coalition government had failed. "Our townships are dirty‚ there’s high unemployment rate‚ raw sewage is spilling over in streets in township and these councillors know this."

PA councillor Marlon Daniels said he would never entertain the removal of an individual from a position based on the colour of his skin.