GRAAFF-REINET NUUS - It has been confirmed that the flip of a coin secured CSA Cllr Cheslin Felix's position as the new speaker in the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality (DBNLM).
Felix, nominated by the ANC, and Eldrige Ruiters, nominated by the DA-led coalition, received 12 votes each in the council meeting on Tuesday 22 February.
Regarding the Section 79 committees that are necessary for the effective and efficient performance of the council's functions, it was agreed that the ANC will be responsible for community services and corporate and the DA-led coalition for finance and infrastructure.
However, the meeting was unable to move forward as the argument over the position of chairperson of this committee ensued.
The ANC nominated two ANC councillors, one of whom was Xolile Galada, to serve on the impact committee.
The DA-led coalition then nominated EFF Cllr Tracy-Lee-Ann Plaatjies as chairperson of the impact committee, but after her nomination was seconded, the ANC indicated that they want Cllr Galada to be the chairperson. The matter was postponed to the next meeting to allow time to obtain a legal opinion.
Graaff-Reinet Advertiser previously reported on disgruntled CSA members' allegation that the expulsion of Laughton Hoffman from the party and, in effect, his removal from office as the speaker, was invalid. According to them, the term of office of the CSA NEC and president already came to an end on 31 December 2021 and for this reason, they no longer had any mandate to make decisions or act on behalf of the party.
In addition, they alleged that the NEC failed to follow the procedure outlined in the CSA constitution and did not consult with any of the CSA branches in the DBNLM when deciding to remove Hoffman.
They also raised concerns relating to Felix's registration of the new proportional representation (PR) list with the IEC on 18 January. The disgruntled members initially informed Graaff-Reinet Advertiser that they applied to the High Court for an interdict to remove Felix and reinstate Hoffman and later announced that the interdict had been granted but still needed to be served.
A copy of the interdict was circulated, but it has since become known that this document is not legitimate. Samantha Graham-Maré, Dr Beyers Naude Constituency Leader, says that she knew it wasn't legitimate and this was confirmed by their DA legal advisor. "The forged interdict nearly embarrassed the DA terribly but fortunately, I refused to do anything until I had seen it."
According to one of the disgruntled CSA members, the document that was in circulation was most certainly not the interdict and must have been a draft to serve as an example of what the interdict would look like. "The allegation that a forged interdict was circulated is very far from the truth since the reality is that we were unable to raise enough money to obtain the interdict."
The statement that the interdict has been granted and served on the IEC and the municipal manager, who allegedly refused to act upon it, was false.
It is alleged that members of the community donated a substantial amount towards the legal fees for obtaining the interdict after they were approached by some of the disgruntled CSA members.
Graham-Maré confirmed that the DA was also approached for donations and was getting a lot of pressure as many complaints were doing the rounds about the DA not contributing.
Graham-Maré made it clear that the DA is not allowed to get involved in another political party's internal affairs and cannot take sides. In summary, Graham-Maré made the following statement: "At the end of the day, the interdict is fraudulent and if the DA contributed, they would have been complicit. It is clear that everybody has been lied to by everybody and I am so proud of my team because we have managed to retain our dignity and our integrity, and we have stood up for the principle at the expense of losing the seat. Not once have we bowed to the pressure from any side to do anything contrary to our principles."
She added that she feels very sorry for the people who put their trust in this party and are now hugely disappointed.
The disgruntled CSA member emphasised that they did everything in their power to protect the coalition but the only way there could have been any intervention was by obtaining the interdict.
"The CSA is a very small political party and simply does not have the kind of money that was required."
The member acknowledged that they managed to raise R7 000 in total, which falls far short of the discounted amount of R50 000 that they needed to set the process in motion. The member expressed gratitude towards those who contributed but stated that they simply did not receive the necessary support as a smaller coalition partner.
Read more in a previous article, Power struggle versus service delivery
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