McKenzie tells DA 'to go to hell' as PA rejects last-minute bid to save Phalatse

The DA's last-minute overtures to minority parties in the City of Johannesburg to save mayor Mpho Phalatse's job have hit a snag after being rejected by the Patriotic Alliance.

PA leader Gayton McKenzie told the media on Thursday morning the DA had reached out to the party late on Wednesday night with a new power-sharing deal, which it had rejected.

This was just hours before the city council sitting on Thursday morning where three motions of no confidence against Phalatse were due to be debated.

Phalatse last year survived two attempts to oust her, largely due to the support of the PA and ActionSA, but the parties have since had a fallout.

McKenzie said they were determined to remove the DA from power.

“Last night, at around midnight they contacted us giving us a new deal, saying that they are now giving us what we want. But because we are not just about power at all costs, we said no.

“They were calling us criminals not so long ago, what's changed now that they want to work with criminals?” McKenzie asked.

“The DA is so used to black and coloured people just giving them [what they want] and they give nothing in return. The time where they think they can tell people what to do and when to do it is over.

“As far as the PA is concerned the DA can go to hell. We are going to vote them out just like we voted them out in the Western Cape. We voted them out in Knysna, in Cederburg, and in Central Karoo. Today we are going to remove them in Joburg,” he said. 

McKenzie alleged the DA had hung Phalatse out to dry after learning she was planning to challenge DA leader John Steenhuisen at the party's federal congress scheduled for April.

He told TimesLIVE: “One thing that they don't want to admit, this fight is not even about the ANC and PA. This is a fight about Mpho Phalatse lifting her hand up to say she is available to become the leader of the DA.

“Cape Town makes decisions in the DA. They want Mpho Phalatse out. There's no way ActionSA could've given up their seats to save the coalition and for Phalatse to keep Joburg — and the DA refuses that decision even though they won't lose anything.

“They don't want black people to rise in the DA. They want to teach Phalatse a lesson, and we are all collateral damage,” McKenzie added.

ANC caucus leader Dada Morero echoed McKenzie's sentiments regarding Phalatse's looming exit, saying the ANC caucus was going to vote in favour of the motion of no confidence against her.

“Last year when the motion of no confidence was withdrawn against her, we did say that it was due to unfinished negotiations between the ANC and EFF nationally regarding how they would co-govern Joburg and Ekurhuleni,” he said.

Morero told TimesLIVE the EFF and ANC had resolved that Johannesburg would have an interim mayor, coming from the minority parties. 

“We accepted the decision coming from the negotiations and are happy to support a mayor coming from the minorities. Once those talks at national level conclude, the two parties would resume mayorship in the metros and the minority parties are aware of this resolution.”

Talk among the parties in the council is that either the African Independent Congress's Margaret Arnolds, Al-Jamah's Thapelo Ahmad or Cope's Colleen Makhubele could succeed Phalatse.

TimesLIVE

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