PRETORIA, GAUTENG — Political turbulence is escalating in the capital as the Democratic Alliance (DA) launches a formal bid to remove Tshwane Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana from his presiding officer role. The motion of no confidence arrives on the heels of a severe high court reprimand, which found the speaker guilty of unlawfully manipulating a council vote to force out the city’s top administrator.
At the center of the controversy is a brazen parliamentary maneuver where Ndzwanana arbitrarily scrubbed 13 votes from an official council tally. The high court determined that this action was entirely baseless, noting that none of the councilors whose votes were erased were even present in the chamber. By misquoting council rules and orders, the speaker engineered the illegal suspension of City Manager Johann Mettler. The DA subsequently took the matter to court, successfully overturning the suspension and exposing the speaker’s abuse of power.
Financial Oversight and Coalition Interests
According to Tshwane DA Deputy Chief Whip Dikeledi Selowa, the coalition targeted Mettler precisely because of his strict financial oversight. She explained that the city manager was actively blocking the return of the chief financial officer and putting a halt to unlawful municipal contracts.
“The speaker deducted the votes to ensure that the city manager is suspended,” Selowa noted, arguing that Ndzwanana operates without a true public mandate. She pointed out that his party garnered support from less than a third of the city’s residents, yet he consistently bends the rules to serve the ANC, EFF, and ActionSA coalition that installed him.
An “Ethics Test” for ActionSA
Acknowledging that the DA may lack the mathematical majority to pass the motion outright, the opposition is framing the upcoming vote as a moral “ethics test” for ActionSA. Selowa challenged the party to break ranks and prioritize municipal integrity over coalition loyalty.
She highlighted that the speaker has already been found guilty of misconduct by the council’s own rules and ethics committee on multiple occasions. Furthermore, Ndzwanana has developed a habit of abandoning the chair during heated council sessions, allowing an ANC representative to take over when controversial agendas arise. The DA is now urging ActionSA to cross the floor on this specific issue and vote to remove a presiding officer who has been legally proven unfit for the role.
Service Delivery Crises vs. Public Relations Stunts
The political theater unfolds just three months ahead of crucial local government elections, a period marked by severe service delivery failures across the metro. Selowa highlighted a recently destroyed electrical substation in Braamfontein—affecting large swaths of Centurion—which the DA had previously earmarked for a complete rebuild. Across the municipality, residents are grappling with dilapidated roads, unlit townships, and non-functional high-mast streetlights.
Rather than addressing these infrastructure crises, the current administration is accused of relying on public relations stunts. Selowa alleged that coalition leaders are busy cutting ribbons on infrastructure projects that were financially planned and initiated under previous DA administrations. Meanwhile, the coalition itself remains fractured, battling internally over portfolios while lacking a unified vision for the city.
Future Scrutiny and the Path Forward
If the coalition rallies to protect Ndzwanana and the motion fails, the DA has vowed to intensify its oversight. Selowa warned that a failed ouster would expose a blatant disregard for the electorate, prompting the opposition to aggressively scrutinize every municipal contract moving forward.
She specifically pointed to ongoing controversies surrounding “Royal 5” and the Madlanga Commission as areas requiring deep investigation. Ultimately, the DA maintains that the ongoing instability proves the necessity of securing an outright majority in the upcoming polls to restore basic service delivery and ensure residents receive genuine value for their municipal rates.
