THE executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Tania Campbell, has been removed from office following a successful motion of no confidence vote.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African National Congress (ANC) were among the parties that supported the motion.
Campbell has for the second time in just over five months been ousted as mayor of Ekurhuleni.
A total of 217 councillors participated in the voting on Thursday, and 126 councillors voted in favour of her removal while 91 voted against the motion.
Ekurhuleni Speaker, Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, immediately declared a vacancy for the position of mayor.
Earlier on Thursday, a group of members from the ANC Youth League staged a picket demanding improved service delivery outside the council chambers of the city.
But the DA’s Gauteng provincial chairperson, Fred Nel, expressed gratitude to the ousted mayor Campbell, now leader of the opposition in the Ekurhuleni City Council, and congratulated her on the achievements of the Multi-Party Coalition government she led since the 2021 Local Government Elections.
According to Nel, during its time in office, the Multi-Party Coalition government led by Campbell made it a priority to find solutions to loadshedding, improve service delivery, and eradicate corruption within the city, in an effort to turn the tide of decades of failure and neglect.
“Contracts with 47 Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were signed, 26 solar IPPs initiated, as well as several gas-based energy projects. Upon completion, these initiatives will add 358 Mega Watts of electricity by 2024, R6.5 billion worth of investment, and will lead to the creation of 2 500 job opportunities,” Nel said.
He said the Multi-Party Coalition government also focused on providing access to basic services such as water and electricity to households from the most socio-economically vulnerable. Illegal connections and tampered and bypassed meters were removed, and almost 6km of new pipelines were laid to ensure access to water.
“Under the Multi-Party Coalition government, 70km of Ekurhuleni roads were rehabilitated. Over 500 square meters of potholes were filled and the pothole backlog of the City significantly reduced,” he said.
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