ActionSA heads to court in bid to oust Tshwane speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana

ActionSA has approached the courts in a bid to compel Tshwane council speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana to surrender to a no-confidence motion against him.

ActionSA Gauteng chairperson Funzi Ngobeni said the court bid was a last resort as Ndzwanana has been blocking attempts to remove him as speaker on “frivolous grounds”.

“ActionSA does not believe the speaker should be allowed to misuse rules to shield himself from the democratic accountability principle of a no-confidence motion. We cannot allow the Tshwane council to disintegrate into chaos and will therefore head to court to ensure the proper functioning of the council is restored,” he said.

TimesLIVE has seen the founding affidavit and papers filed to the high court. A court date has not yet been set. 

Ngobeni said his party was taking this route as Ndzwanana's position was premised on the reality that the DA-led multiparty coalition in Tshwane will not achieve stability with an “ANC/EFF sponsored speaker at the helm facilitating their unlawful power grabs”. 

“We are asking the court to reject the speaker's decision to dismiss the two previous motions of no confidence against him, and for a no-confidence motion to take place at the next available council sitting which should be presided over by the city manager,” he said.

Ngobeni accused Ndzwanana of ascending to the position on the back of a dodgy EFF/ANC agreement to vote for small minority parties in a bid to destabilise coalition governments ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections where the ANC is likely to be removed.

“Action SA will continue to place the needs of the residents of Tshwane first and will not allow the ANC and EFF to get away by playing political games. We believe that the courts are the only remaining option and we look forward to the matter being resolved soon.”

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