Drama unfolded during the Buffalo City Metro’s special council meeting on Wednesday, resulting in an ANC councillor being forced to withdraw his statements after he referred to an opposition party councillor as a “political spoilt brat”.
This was amid a heated debate among councillors, as the ANC wanted to sneak in a report from the city’s finance watchdog, Mpac, even though it was not part of the day’s agenda.
The Mpac report was initially scheduled to be discussed in the meeting, but an “administrative glitch” led to it not being included in the day’s agenda.
This glitch raised the ire of both ANC and opposition councillors.
When the majority of council pushed for the inclusion of the report, DA councillor Anathi Majeke objected, saying rules for a special council meeting did not allow for this.
ANC councillor Sakhumzi Caga then took to the mic and accused Majeke of being a “political spoilt brat” who wanted to go against the wishes of the majority of councillors.
A legal opinion on the matter was later sought, with the city’s acting legal head, Sphatho Handi, advising council that Majeke was correct.
Handi told councillors that they could push for it to be tabled but should brace for a legal challenge should anyone decide to approach court over their plan to bypass council rules.
There were then back and forth arguments among councillors on whether to disregard the legal advice and push for the inclusion of this item.
ANC chief whip Ntombizandile Mhlola later called for her party caucus, and when they rejoined the meeting, it was agreed that the report be shelved for a special council meeting next week.
Majeke later said it was dramatic debates such as this that had led her to call for all metro council meetings to be livestreamed.
“I was dubbed a political spoilt brat, but I take that as a badge of honour for championing transparency and accountability,” Majeke said.
“By standing firm on discussing only agenda items in a special council meeting, I ensured that the rules were upheld.
“Unfortunately, the ANC’s attempts to bend the rules for their own interests, rather than the public’s, were once again on display.
“It’s no wonder they are hesitant to livestream council meetings, as they wouldn’t want the public to witness their questionable interpretation of the law.”
On Friday, Majeke had sent a letter to city manager Mxolisi Yawa and council speaker Humphrey Maxegwana, calling for council meetings to be streamed live.
Council meetings are held at the East London City Hall and the public can watch the proceedings from the gallery. It is also done through virtual platforms.
However, according to Majeke, in a letter to Yawa, the current approach of “open meetings” falls short of the “legislative imperatives that meetings be open to the public”.
“Teams meetings cannot be seen as open to the public, and the current process of providing updates or small summaries while necessary, does not satisfy the core legal obligation to facilitate real-time public observation and involvement,” she said.
“Furthermore, the public cannot be excluded when critical matters like the budget, a draft bylaw, or the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) are being discussed.”
She said the streaming of council meetings was the most effective and accessible way to fully comply with the law.
“We have already witnessed the Eastern Cape legislature’s ‘Taking the Legislature to the People’ programme being fully transparent and broadcast to all members of the public who were unable to attend in person.”
Majeke said there were no costs involved in broadcasting live council meetings as the broadcast could be handled and managed by the municipality’s IT staff.
At the commencement of Wednesday’s virtual meeting, Maxegwana confirmed receiving Majeke’s correspondence, and later said the virtual meeting was being streamed live.
When Majeke wanted to know on which platforms, Maxegwana asked the city administration bosses to explain.
Executive support, which is responsible for council operations, said they could not livestream the Wednesday meeting as it was virtual, saying only the metro’s IT unit could have done so.
However, the IT person said he was only made aware of the request for livestreaming late on Tuesday and thus could not implement it.
Maxegwana promised that future meetings would be streamed live.
Daily Dispatch
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