Ekurhuleni speaker quits after one month in job, council in turmoil

The City of Ekurhuleni council was in turmoil on Thursday morning after speaker Dora Mlambo verbally announced her resignation during a council sitting, following her appointment as a member of the mayoral committee.

Mlambo told TimesLIVE she would be sending her written resignation before the rescheduling of the council meeting some time next week.

“The mayor has deployed me to serve as an MMC and legally, I can’t hold both positions at the same time, I had to let one go,” Mlambo said.

Her announcement effectively cancelled the scheduled council meeting on Thursday.

“Now that I have been appointed to the mayoral committee, I have to resign as speaker. I cannot be a speaker and an MMC at the same time,” Mlambo said.

The city manager is expected to issue a new notice to reconvene council next week.

“If the mayor feels there is a gap in his team and wants me to fill that position, I can’t decline that,” said Mlambo.

Her resignation comes just a month after she was elected speaker on January 26.

“I was trying to adapt in the office and learn more things. There is a lot in the office of the speaker. But if they felt I must go and fill the gap, then that is what it is. I can’t believe I have only been a speaker for a month,” she said.

EFF councillors disrupted proceedings, questioning why Mlambo was leading the meeting. But Mlambo brushed off the interruptions and said she did not have a problem with the EFF.

EFF provincial chairperson Nkululeko Dunga blamed mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza for the turmoil.

“The EFF in Gauteng condemns in the strongest terms the collapse of the City of Ekurhuleni council as a direct result of the reckless and unilateral actions of ANC executive mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza,” Dunga said in a statement.

The EFF argued that making such changes hours before council was due to vote on the adjusted budget created uncertainty and directly contributed to the collapse of the sitting. “This was not an oversight, but a deliberate and calculated move to plunge the municipality into turmoil at a time when stability is desperately needed,” Dunga said.

The EFF has called on Xhakaza to be removed as the executive mayor to restore stability.

TimesLIVE