PHUTI MOSOMANE
THE Free State High Court in Bloemfontein has declared the election of Papi Mokoena as the Executive Mayor of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality unlawful following an urgent application brought by the ANC.
The high court ruled that Mokoena, the president of the Afrikan Alliance For Social Democrats, is interdicted and restrained from holding himself as the Executive Mayor and from performing any acts in pursuance of his election.
Mokoena was elected the new Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metro Municipality last Friday.
In its urgent application, the ANC argued that Mokoena’s election was riddled with illegalities since the majority of ANC councillors were not present, and 52 councillors, including the expelled ANC councillors Mapaseka Mothibi-Nkoane and Patrick Monyakoane, voted for Mokoena unopposed.
Lawyers representing the ANC also argued that the participation of the expelled councillors allowed the council meeting to reach a quorum and was therefore unlawful given that the interdict was already granted on Friday stopping them from participating.
The ANC Free State Provincial Secretary, Polediso Motsoeneng, welcomed the ruling on Wednesday night and reiterated his party’s commitment to reconfiguring the council of Mangaung in line with its internal processes to accelerate the delivery of quality services to the people of Mangaung.
“The ANC will never allow its deployees to be commanded to by the forces of the opposition and will continue to deal harshly with those who refuse to tow its line. The ANC is a revolutionary movement, whose strategic goal is the attainment of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society,” Motsoeneng said.
As a result of the chaotic situation surrounding the election of the Mangaung Mayor, the municipality has lost out on R75 million in conditional grant funding that was supposed to be used for service delivery.
The funding had to be returned unspent to the National Treasury.
The municipality has also failed to pass an adjustment budget on two separate occasions, further hindering its ability to effectively deliver services to its residents.
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