By Luvuyo Mjekula
The Makana Citizens Front (MCF) seeks to have Makana mayor Yandiswa Vara voted out through a vote of no confidence.
The motion will likely be tabled and debated in an ordinary council meeting on 30 April.
Council Speaker Mthuthuzeli Matyumza announced the MCF’s motion last month.
The party’s Philip Machanick had requested that voting be conducted by means of a secret ballot.
“I hereby submit the attached motion of no confidence against the Executive Mayor for consideration by Council at the earliest practicable time, either a special Council meeting called as soon as possible or to be in the next ordinary Council meeting scheduled for 30 April 2025,” Machanick stated.
The party wants Vara removed with immediate effect for “failures and poor performance”, among other things.
“Makana Citizens Front, the official opposition party in the Council, is submitting that the Executive Mayor is no longer fit to and capable of occupying the Executive Mayor’s office and leading Makana Municipality.”
Here are some of the reasons the party wants Vara gone:
- Vara has performed her legislative duties appallingly without regard for the rule of law. She is responsible for two consecutive financial disclaimers, service delivery failures, a lack of consequence management and growing wasteful, irregular and fruitless expenditure.
- As the political head of the municipality with an oversight role over the administration, the Executive Mayor has allowed the questionable appointment of a conflicted and compromised Chief Financial Officer, who was in direct conflict with the law whilst employed in other municipalities. The MCF is aware that thcurrent CFO’s appointment was made withoutny proper due diligence. As the custodian of the municipal budget, the Executive Mayor did not submit any meaningful and impactful recommendations to Council to combat and prevent financial mismanagement and or abuse of municipal finances as highlighted by the Auditor General of South Africa in five consecutive Disclaimer Audit reports.
- Even though the municipality, including the mayor, claimed to welcome the intervention of the SIU, the SIU had to obtain a search warrant, embarrassing evidence of a culture of lawlessness in the municipality under the Executive Mayor’s leadership.
- The MCF is aware that the Executive Mayor has hired expensive cars outside the prescribed budget limitations. Furthermore, the MCF is also aware that the Executive Mayor has caused accidents to two hired vehicles without reporting the accidents to the Council. The accidents were never reported to the Council. There was no accountability at all for this unauthorised, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure.
MCF leader Lungile Mxube said the no-confidence vote is a cry of all citizens and ratepayers of Makana, and all councillors must choose the people over “an incompetent mayor”.
“All councillors who took an oath of office to be loyal to all citizens of Makana, the Constitution and all other applicable laws, which in this case involve the MFMA. Surely they should place the interest of all taxpayers first and vote with their conscience rather than allow themselves to be dictated to by a narrow and selfish partisan political interest,” Mxube said.
Makana Municipality spokesperson Anele Mjekula did not respond to questions.
