Opposition parties boycotted the planned sitting and as a result, the House failed to meet the quorum. On Wednesday the troubled and litigious council planned a special council sitting but it was boycotted by all opposition parties, including the DA, EFF, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), and The Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats (AASD), among others.  

AASD president, Papi Mokoena, and fellow councillors, including Lucky Mongale. Photo: Lucky Nkuyane 

The planned council sitting was set to elect the executive mayor, deputy mayor, council whip of the troubled council, and Municipal Public Accounts Committee. The boycott move by opposition parties comes after seven expelled ANC members won leave to appeal their expulsion from the party at the Free State High Court recently. 

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The ANC fired eight councillors, including the former Deputy Mayor, Mapaseka Nkoane Mothibi, the former speaker, Stefanie Lockman-Naidoo, and the former Member of the Mayoral Committee (Transport in the Metro), Patric Monyakoane.

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They were fired after it was alleged that some of them had voted with opposition parties in council to vote in the DA's speaker candidate, Maryke Davies.

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Meanwhile, the AASD's Zwelakhe Msabe said the council sitting scheduled for Wednesday (5/7), collapsed after opposition parties boycotted the meeting. Msabe said they wrote to the council Speaker Maryke Davies on Tuesday (4/7), requesting her to remove the election of Council Whip, MPAC Chairperson, Deputy and Executive Mayor items from the schedule. He added that on Tuesday (4/7) afternoon they received correspondence from the Speaker's office, rejecting the request. 

The metro does not have a permanent Executive Mayor. The ANC's Gregory Nthatisi is acting as the Executive Mayor. This after the Free State High Court Judge Sharon Chisiwe confirmed an interdict against opposition party Leader and AASD president Papie Mokoena. 

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This after the ANC dragged the council and Mokoena to court after a council sitting on 14 April duly elected him as the executive mayor.

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In 2022, the EFF called for the dissolution of the council, following the failure to adopt its controversial budget on two occasions.

The EFF Mangaung Chairperson, Gopolang Lipale, at the time said the council had failed to fulfill its task of serving residents in the Metro whilst corruption is thriving allegedly under the watch of the council.

He said that thieves, crooks, and criminals must be jailed and keys must be thrown away if the national government is serious about dealing with the troubles in the ailing Metro. Lipale added that the national government should move to disband and dissolve the council because it has failed its key and basic mandate of making sure that corruption is rooted out and those in question are dealt with according to the law. 

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