KNYSNA NEWS - The DA in the Knysna council has questioned why the acting Speaker, ruling in a no-confidence motion against the Speaker, called for a show of hands rather than a secret vote.
Jason White, DA caucus chairperson, said the ruling "directly impacted the ability of some councillors to vote freely".
"Several councillors from the governing coalition expressed their support for the motion during prior discussions with them, but were unable to cast their votes due to fears of retaliation from their parties," said White.
The motion of no confidence in Speaker Mncedisi Skosana, brought by the DA, was defeated on Monday 5 August at an ordinary council meeting. There were 11 votes against and 9 for the motion tabled by White.
"The DA specifically requested a secret ballot to ensure that all councillors could vote according to their conscience, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic. The decision to proceed by show of hands by the acting Speaker undermined this democratic principle and affected the fairness of the voting process," said White in a statement.
The motion followed a walkout by the DA from a meeting on Friday 19 July where they accused Skosana of "non-action".
The voting went along party lines with the ruling coalition, made up of the ANC/PBI/EFF/PA garnering 11 votes against the motion, and the DA (7) and KIM (2) voting for the motion. One DA councillor was on leave.
"We are deeply concerned by the conduct of the acting Speaker, who ignored the ruling of the previous Speaker, mandating a secret ballot for the motion.
"As the official opposition in Knysna, we remain committed to holding the coalition government accountable and advocating for effective governance.
"We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Knysna is governed in a manner that delivers equitable and efficient services to all its residents," said White.
The outcome of the no-confidence motion means that the Speaker cannot face another no-confidence motion for three months.
Moyisi Magalela, the ANC's Southern Cape regional spokesperson, said the DA was "taking chances" in bringing their motion.
"As ANC we welcome the outcome of the motion," said Magalela. "The DA were just taking chances, their motion did not capture a valid reason to put a motion against the Speaker."
Magalela said the Speaker used rules of order in the 19 July meeting "where DA stomped out of council meeting".
It is the Speaker's prerogative to determine how the voting should proceed, "therefore there was nothing wrong" with the decision of the acting Speaker to allow voting to be done by the show of hands.
"The voting was fair and free and even if it was by secret ballot, the outcome would still have been the same because the motion was baseless," said Magalela.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
