The FF Plus's motion of no confidence against the Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metro Municipality, Olly Mlamleli, was supported by a majority of councillors during a council meeting on Friday. The successful motion removes Mlamleli as mayor.
After the vote took place and the result became known, a group of ANC councillors, however, left the meeting so that quorum could not be reached during the official announcement of the result. It, fortunately, does not change the result seeing as there was indeed a quorum established during the voting.
The FF Plus welcomes the fact that the majority of councillors, from various political parties, voted in line with their conscience to remove the mayor and the party views this as a victory for all the residents of the Metro.
Service delivery and municipal management in the Mangaung Metro Municipality had deteriorated drastically, particularly after Mlamleli was elected as Executive Mayor in 2016. Thus, the FF Plus's motion of no confidence was in the best interest of Metro residents.
The most recent downgrade of the Metro's creditworthiness by the credit rating agency Moody's is indicative of the serious crisis in which the Municipality currently finds itself.
Residents are burdened by countless potholes, street and traffic lights that do not work, a lack of road signs and street name signs, service delivery problems that take weeks to be resolved, a municipal call centre that, for all practical purposes, is not functioning, sewage and clean, drinking water flowing freely in the streets as well as problems with municipal accounts. In addition to this, the Metro's liabilities exceed its assets and so it also does not meet its financial obligations.
The dire situation in which the Metro currently finds itself can only be ascribed to a lack of good leadership and, therefore, the political leaders must be held accountable.
All residents deserve a better local government. That is why the FF Plus tabled this motion of no confidence and the party will keep fighting for a better managed Metro in the interest of the community.
Yesterday, democracy finally triumphed for Mangaung residents.
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