The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the City of Ekurhuleni on Tuesday called on Ekurhuleni Speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to resign before the party removes her through a vote in council, calling for dissolvement of council.

DA Ekurhuleni Caucus Chairperson Raymond Dhlamini said the speaker had failed to be fair and had brought the legislature into disrepute, choosing to protect the Executive.

Tshivhenga took over the position of speaker last year in February after Dhlamini was ousted.

Last week violence erupted at the council meeting in Germiston, where the council was meant to hear a motion of no confidence in Mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana, brought by ActionSA.

The DA in Ekurhuleni has brought a motion of no confidence against Tshivhenga, saying the party believes she has utterly failed in her duties as the Speaker of Council.

Dhlamini highlighted that the violence that erupted in the City of Ekurhuleni Council sitting last week under Tshivhenga’s watch, revealed exactly what the party’s priorities are.

“The EFF chooses thuggery and violence over democracy and residents’ needs - she must do the honourable thing and resign.

“Once again, the EFF speaker sat idle while violence erupted in the council chambers, he said. Dhlamini alleged that Tshivhenga allowed EFF councillors to beat their colleagues and destroy council property.

“The once august house has turned into a circus of vulgarity where fists and foul language have become the norm. Enough is enough and the DA is calling on the EFF Speaker to resign before she is removed through a democratic vote in the chamber. We cannot allow the council to degenerate any further,” said the DA.

This is not the first council meeting where violence has erupted. In November last year, EFF councillors stormed the DA benches physically assaulting DA councillors.

Once again, the Speaker, who is responsible for maintaining order in the house, watched on, Dhlamini explained.

He noted that the speaker had failed to be fair and had brought the legislature into disrepute, choosing to protect the Executive. “The speaker is blatantly putting her political party ahead of not only the safety of councillors but also residents across the city, choosing to let anarchy take control of the meeting rather than placing council proceedings,” Dhlamini added.

“The speaker must go and the decorum of the council must be restored! We are calling on the EFF Speaker to do the right thing, and resign before we remove her through a vote in council. Beyond this, however, we stand by our call for the council to be dissolved. Only fresh elections can stabilise the council,” he said.