ActionSA blames DA for its withdrawal of motion of no confidence against Gwamanda

ActionSA has expressed disappointed with the DA for not supporting a motion of no confidence against Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda.

The party on Monday withdrew the motion of no confidence to remove Gwamanda. It was set to be tabled at the next council meeting on Thursday. 

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont blamed the withdrawal on the DA, saying it was refusing to put the interests of the multiparty charter and the residents of Johannesburg ahead of their own narrow political interests.

“After committing to talks about Johannesburg on the sidelines of the multiparty charter, the DA refused to attend engagements about a proposal that would win back Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, Knysna and various municipalities across the country for the parties of the charter.”

According to Beaumont, during the multiparty charter negotiations it was unanimously agreed membership needed to be expanded to give the charter the votes it required to win a majority in 2024.

He said talks with the Patriotic Alliance (PA) resulted in them demonstrating their willingness to provide the required votes to remove Gwamanda and pave the way for parties in the charter to demonstrate the first success in the project of building momentum to 2024. 

“Letters were issued to party leaders on Saturday confirming the DA would not engage in talks, would not work with the PA and would propose an amendment to the motion of no confidence to propose the dissolution of the council. Within minutes of receiving these letters, it was apparent they had been provided it to the media simultaneously.

“This notion of a new motion to dissolve the city council must be dismissed as the stunt that it is. The DA’s refusal to engage the PA to secure the simple majority needed for a motion of no confidence would even more profoundly doom a proposal to dissolve the council which would require a two-thirds majority threshold.

“It is a political sleight of hand to distract from the obvious fact the DA’s actions will directly result in the continuation of ANC and EFF governance in Johannesburg,” said Beaumont.

Without the DA's support, the motion cannot succeed and continuing with it would only serve to damage the image of the charter, he said. 

“ActionSA and our partners in the IFP, FF Plus, ACDP and UIM will use the time afforded by the temporary withdrawal to engage the DA to assist them to look beyond their narrow interests in the Western Cape.

“For the DA to opt for the continuation of ANC and EFF governance, rather than leading or supporting a coalition led by one of their own partners, is a serious concern that ActionSA will be raising within the charter. The DA has every right to determine how involved it is in any coalition arrangement,” he said. 

Beaumont said ActionSA will seek clarity about how the DA’s actions in Johannesburg should be understood in the broader context of removing the ANC in 2024.

The DA previously criticised the PA for voting to keep the ANC/EFF coalition in power in Nelson Mandela Bay despite the party's leader Gayton McKenzie promising to sop working with the ANC in several municipalities

“Despite McKenzie’s talk and bravado about leaving ANC coalitions and joining the DA and its partners in the multiparty charter, when given the opportunity to remove the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay, they chose to vote with the ANC/EFF coalition.

“This again proves McKenzie is speaking with a forked tongue when he says the PA is willing to walk away from the ANC to join the charter.”