Ousted Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse ‘reaching out’ to former coalition parties in bid to mend bridges

Ousted City of Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse said on Wednesday she would not only fight to be reinstated, but also to reunite the coalition partners who were governing the city.

“It is a pity that some, who have abandoned the coalition, have now given power back to the ANC. This is not what their voters wanted, and I call upon them to reconsider,” she said.

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Phalatse addressed the media for the first time since she was booted from her position on Friday, 30 September. 

“There is a political battle to be fought too. A battle to appeal to the senses of political parties who genuinely care about our city and its residents. Parties whose voters tasked them with ensuring that the ANC does not get its hands on their rates and taxes. These parties have an obligation to their voters. A duty to rise above party politics, to choose to enter the fight, joining hands with others to keep the ANC out.

“I will be reaching out even as we prepare for the court battle. Crucial conversations must be had, but at the centre of these should be our residents, the reason we are all here. Coalition governance is not easy. However, we have no option but to make it work. We cannot give up now.

“We either make this coalition work, or we give the ANC a licence to loot. I look forward to being part of a coalition of like-minded political parties, and to serving you, the residents of Johannesburg, playing my part in rebuilding this incredible city,” she said.  

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The multiparty coalition in the City of Joburg completely collapsed after Phalatse was removed as mayor. The coalition consisted of the DA, ActionSA, the IFP, the Freedom Front Plus, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), the ACDP, Cope, the United Independent Movement and the African Transformation Movement. Phalatse was ousted by 139 councillors including those from the PA, and Dada Morero was installed as executive mayor.

ActionSA had led the charge to have an IFP member elected as Speaker and was supported by all other coalition partners except the DA, which rejected the proposal and wanted its candidate, Alex Christians, to replace Vasco da Gama. 

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This did not sit well with the other parties and led to the PA abandoning the coalition and voting with the ANC, the EFF and minority parties to install Colleen Makhubele as council Speaker.

The PA was triggered by the letter the coalition technical task team had received from DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille and her deputy, Thomas Walters, in which she made it categorically clear that the DA would not support the reconfiguration of the coalition. Another spanner in the works came in the form of DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga’s opinion piece in which he particularly looked at the state of coalitions.

ActionSA stated that it would take a break from working with the DA in the city, but would be willing to continue its partnership in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

Since her removal, Phalatse has launched a court bid to set aside Speaker Makhubele’s decision to hold an extraordinary council meeting, and the programming meeting’s decision to place the motion against her on the agenda. She is urging the courts to declare the adoption of the motion and Morero’s appointment as mayor invalid.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Joburg council drama dents national cooperation flirtations — and heralds post-2024 deal-making” 

This comes after her bid to have the sitting interdicted was struck off the roll by the Johannesburg High Court on Friday. The court reasoned that Phalatse had already been ousted before the matter could be heard virtually.

Phalatse said the recent events in the Johannesburg Council had dealt a major blow to the progress made by the multiparty coalition since January. 

“I believe that [the council] sitting was a sham, and the decisions taken there were unlawful. I believe a court will soon confirm this view. As far as I’m concerned, I still have a duty of service to the residents of Johannesburg — a duty which I intend to perform to the best of my ability.

“I love this great city, and I love its people. My term of office, to date, has been both the hardest and the most rewarding time of my life, and I know we’ve made a positive difference here.

“There is no way that I will back down now, at the first sign of adversity at the hands of a takeover by a corrupt few. I made promises to the people of Joburg before last year’s elections, and I repeated those promises when I took office in January. I have every intention of keeping my promises.” DM