Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
03 December 2024
A debate on who should be the executive mayor for the day led to a postponement of the council meeting in Govan Mbeki Municipality on Thursday, 28 November 2024. This came after Cllr Nhlakanipho Zuma was unable to attend the meeting, and he appointed MMC of Finance, Cllr Aron Mbokazi as acting mayor.
Councillors debated the decision of appointing Cllr Mbokazi, as they believed they were supposed to be informed before the meeting and be allowed to vote on who should act on his behalf.
“We cannot overlook the statutes over the delegation register. Law is supreme over the register. The acting mayor’s appointment should be nominated by the council, not by the executive mayor,” said Nthabeleng Mtahane, EFF Chief Whip.
“According to the constitution, councillors have the right to delegate the acting executive mayor. My advice is that the meeting can resume with the appointed executive mayor or can be postponed to another date.
We can also involve legal representatives and be advised for future reference,” said Mr Elliot Maseko, municipal manager.
The Speaker of Council, Cllr Fikile Magagamela, made a ruling and postponed the meeting to Wednesday, 04 December 2024.
