Matika’s removal a victory for community say Andrew Louw

Media Statement – Today, the Democratic Alliance’s motion of no confidence in the Executive Mayor of Sol Plaatje, Mangaliso Matika, was approved by a majority of councillors present in a Special Council Meeting at the municipality.

The DA has long fought for his removal as mayor, as Matika has shown time and again that he is not fit to lead the municipality. We welcome the support we received from the councillors present today, including councillors from the EFF, the FF+ and the ANC, which made his removal possible. The councillors went beyond narrow party politics to uphold the interests of the community.

We are mindful of the fact that no single individual can ever be greater than the community who elected him or her to power.

We are cautiously optimistic that Matika’s removal as mayor is a chance for the legitimate concerns of the community to be heard and addressed by council. Under Matika’s leadership, service delivery has collapsed and the municipal administration has been replaced by a network of political patronage. We call on the new mayor, Pule Thabane, to avoid the errors that his predecessor made and to prioritise the needs of the people above petty politics.

We hope that Matika’s removal will avert the shutdown and allow for the normal operation of schools, hospitals, clinics and other government services tomorrow. The previous shutdown resulted in unprecedented damage to property, loss of income and looting as a criminal element attempted to hijack the matter. Kimberley simply cannot afford a repeat of this situation to happen.

While Matika’s removal is a step in the right direction, it will take more than one ANC faction replacing another to fix what has been broken. What the Northern Cape needs is change led by a DA government that will always put the people first, create jobs and stop corruption. The people of the Northern Cape deserve a new government, and this can happen in 2019.

We are aware of the fact that Matika’s faction will try all sort of desperate tactics to have his removal set aside. To him we say – the people have spoken, council has spoken and you have lost.

The DA will continue to monitor the ongoing section 106 investigation to ensure that Matika is still held accountable for the decisions taken under his leadership.

Media Enquiries
Andrew Louw
DA Northern Cape Provincial Leader
082 383 6914