Staff Reporter
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has ordered Metsimaholo Local Municipality mayor Selloane Motjeane to resign with immediate effect.
Party leader Julius Malema told a media briefing on Thursday afternoon that Motjeane was instructed to step down during an earlier meeting because she would be forced to work with the ANC since they supported her to assume the high office.
“We have asked the mayor of Metsimaholo to resign with immediate effect because she became a mayor through the vote of the ANC,” said Malema, as he gave feedback on the party’s performance in the just-ended municipal elections.
“We don’t vote with the ANC. Even when the ANC votes for us, we should not accept that,” he added.
“She remains our mayoral candidate in Metsimaholo. We will persuade the DA to vote with us.
“If they don’t want, we will vote with them and give them that municipality. As long as the municipality is not in the hands of the ANC.”
Metsimaholo has a total of 46 seats, of which the EFF and the DA got 12 apiece while the ANC got 16.
Motjeane had become the first EFF mayor since the formation of the party in 2013.
The EFF has played a key role in ensuring the ANC did not retain the three metros in Gauteng and other hung municipalities by supporting the DA to ensure they secured a majority.
The strategy has seen the ANC losing Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni metros.
The ANC, which also failed to garner enough votes to control Metsimaholo in 2016, said it decided to support the EFF for the mayoral post in order to retain some influence and control in the municipality.
The Sowetan reported that ANC Fezile Dabi regional coordinator Thabo Mabasa was among those who helped hatch the “surprise deal with the EFF”.