WATCH: Scuffle breaks out during special council sitting at Tshwane House
Published
A scuffle broke out during Tshwane's special council sitting at Tshwane House Council Chamber. Picture: Rapula Moatshe A scuffle broke out during Tshwane's special council sitting at Tshwane House Council Chamber. Picture: Rapula Moatshe
Pretoria - A scuffle broke out during a special council sitting at Tshwane House Council Chamber on Thursday when the strategic executive in the office of the Speaker, Tiyiselani Babane clashed with "the ANC councillors".
It was unclear what caused the confrontation, but Babane was prevented from exchanging blows with one of the councillors.
He was later escorted out of the chamber by "bouncers".
ANC regional chairperson Dr Kgosi Maepa said Babane went to ANC councillors and provoked them, and as a result a scuffle broke out.
"He wanted to physically fight with the ANC councillors," he said.
A scuffle broke out during Tshwane's special council sitting at Tshwane House Council Chamber. Video: Rapula Moatshe
He said the ANC was told that "the Speaker's office and the DA organised 80 bouncers".
He expressed shock at the decision to bring bouncers, saying it meant the ANC councillors were not safe because "the DA brought violence".
The meeting got off to a bad start at 10am with councillors from the EFF and ANC clashing with council Speaker Katlego Mathebe over a sequence of the meeting agenda.
The agenda of the meeting was to pass motions of no confidence against Mathebe, Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa, acting Speaker Zweli Khumalo and chair of chairs Gert Pretorious.
Almost two hour into the meeting Mathebe was still to get to an item on the tabling of motions.
ANC regional chairperson Dr Kgosi Maepa speaks to the media at Tshwane House. Video: Rapula Moatshe
Mathebe has been accused by the EFF regional leader Moafrika Mabogwana of being conflicted in the meeting by virtue of a planned motion of no confidence against her.
He also took a swipe at her for wanting to take charge of the sequence of the council agenda despite that she was "forced" to convene the meeting by the EFF and ANC.
"You can't in our meeting decide the sequence upon which the agenda is going to be debated," Mabogwana said.
He said it was not Mathebe's responsibility to decide on the sequence and that she must allow the Whips to decide on that.
Mabogwana tried in vain to persuade Mathebe to "adhere to Section 29 of Municipal Structures Act" by allowing those who asked her to call a meeting to have a say on the agenda.
"You are conflicted in as far as this motions are concerned," he further charged.
Mathebe shot down a point of order made by Mabogwana, telling him to refer her to a piece of legislation, from where she deviated.
Mathebe believed that she was right to decide on the agenda. She said she declined to host a proposed council sitting by the EFF and ANC recently because "the time you were requesting (me to host a sitting) was not reasonable.''
"No one forced me to call this meeting I called this meeting based on the Structures Act," she said.
ANC chief whip Aaron Maluleka rose on a point of order on the Speaker, saying Section 29 of the Municipal Structures Act prescribed that petitioners of the meeting could decide on the time and date of the meeting. He said Mathebe decided to deviate from the Act.
"We are petitioners of this meeting we are demanding that we have an engagement with you. We are not going to allow you to continue with this meeting as petitioners until you engage with us," he said.
Maepa said the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Lebogang Maile on Wednesday pleaded with Mathebe to follow to the Constitution of South Africa during the sitting.
"The Speaker can't preside on a motion of no confidence in her. In order words the Speaker must allow petitioners to tell her what is the petition about and what is on the agenda," Maepa said.