The Johannesburg High Court on Monday declared the disputed notice convening an Extra Ordinary Council meeting of the City of Johannesburg as invalid.
Following the ousting of Vasco da Gama as Speaker in a no-confidence vote, the Chair of Chairs Councillor Colleen Makhubele issued the disputed notice to convene an Extra Ordinary Council sitting on Tuesday, 13 September 2022.
However, the City of Johannesburg’s multi-party government approached the court seeking an urgent interdict to stop the Extra Ordinary Council sitting, which was intended to elect a new Speaker.
The application was heard Monday afternoon, and the court ruled that: “The meeting convened by the notice and scheduled for 13 September 2022 at 10h00 is interdicted from taking place”.
In addition, the court ordered that “the respondent [Colleen Makhubele] is declared not to be the Acting Speaker of the First Applicant [City of Johannesburg]”.
The court also ruled that Makhubele is “interdicted from holding herself out as, or as purporting, to be exercising any of the statutory functions of the Acting Speaker of the first applicant”.
Makhubele was ordered to pay the costs of the application.
Earlier, Johannesburg Mayor Dr. Mpho Phalatse insisted that Makhubele had no right to call a meeting on behalf of the council.
Dr. Phalatse said: “Equally, the day-to-day administrative functions and operations of the Council fall under the care of the Secretary to Council”.
She said under the Municipal Structures Act, the “Office of the Speaker remains vacant until such a time the City Manager convenes a sitting of Council to elect an Acting Speaker or Speaker”.
In a statement late Monday, the governing multi-party coalition in the City of Johannesburg said it “welcomes the ruling by the South Gauteng High Court this evening”.
The multi-party coalition-led Council said the ruling was a “vindication”.
“The interdict means that the City of Johannesburg will elect its Speaker at the Special Council Meeting scheduled by the acting city manager for 26 September 2022,” said the statement issued on behalf of the multi-party coalition.
In addition, the multi-party coalition announced that it has filed a motion of no-confidence in Chair of Chairs Makhubele, which will be heard on 28 September 2022.
