The DA in Tshwane intends to axe council speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana and has filed a no-confidence motion against the speaker that they expect will be debated in the council sitting on June 26.
The party has accused Ndzwanana of being delinquent in his duties, often stifling debate in council and sweeping no confidence motions against himself and the mayor under the carpet.
DA caucus whip Ofentse Madzebatela has called Ndzwanana a “tyrant” who runs council like a dictator who views councillors as “subjects”.
Madzebatela alleges that Ndzwanana makes his rulings based on emotion, and not logic or the rules of council.
“Due to this attitude, councillors cannot participate in meetings as equal peers.
“His discriminatory behaviour has reached a point where parties outside the governing coalition do not have a fair say or hearing in council meetings. The speaker has developed a disposition to dismiss all propositions of the DA caucus, as legally and rationally sound as they may be,” he alleged.
Ndzwanana is a minority party member deployed by the African Transformation Movement, who rose to the position through a power-sharing deal with the ANC, the EFF and ActionSA.
He served as council speaker in the previous administration under former DA mayor Cilliers Brink, but crossed the floor and aligned himself with the new administration led by ActionSA’s Nasiphi Moya.
However, it appears that Ndzwanana might not get rewarded for his loyalty as his current coalition partners mull over whether to support the motion against him.
TimesLIVE Premium understands that senior ANC and EFF leaders are expected to meet their respective caucuses on Tuesday evening to deliberate over Ndzwanana’s future.
The meetings by the coalition parties are indicative of a marriage on the rocks.
Ordinarily, coalition partners would declare unwavering support when the opposition is criticising their own — however, the emergency talks could signal a looming exit for Ndzwanana.
Ndzwanana denied that opposition parties are being silenced in council meetings.
“It’s the duty of thespeaker of council to be fair and impartial when managing debates. It is wholly incorrect to assert that opposition parties are being silenced in council meetings. The speaker has always and continues to conduct and uphold fairness and impartiality in managing debates and motions.
“All members of the council have and continue to enjoy the freedom of debate during council meetings; this is borne out by the record of proceedings which are 'live streamed' on YouTube. The speaker, as the champion of oversight, is currently making sure that all the committees sit to provide a platform to hold the executive accountable,” he said.
The DA, which serves as the official opposition in council, has pointed fingers at Ndzwanana for allegedly dismissing their points of order, their requests for deliberation and amendments on reports. The party claims the speaker sidelines their recommendations and throws out no-confidence motions when they do not favour his coalition partners.
The DA caucus whip added that Ndzwanana is indecisive and impulsive.
“For a period of almost four months, committee meetings of council failed to take place, either being postponed or cancelled. It was only after the DA’s public outcry in this regard, that some sort of stability prevailed and committee meetings were resuscitated in February 2025.
“How are democratically elected public representatives expected to represent their constituencies when their voices are being stifled? This is not symbolic of representative democracy; it is tantamount to censorship. We will remove the speaker and restore democracy to Tshwane’s council chamber.”
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