The council met on Wednesday to deliberate on several key issues and a quorum was constituted in the first phase of the council meeting. However, opposition parties then left the council on the second phase of the meeting when items such as voting or appointments of the Head of Departments and directors were about to be introduced. This is the second time council fails to meet the quorum in two weeks. 

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Parties that staged a walkout, included the DA, EFF, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), and The Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats (AASD), among others.  

Trouble started to mount in the council after the expulsion of eight ANC councillors who allegedly voted with opposition parties on several items, including voting for DA speaker Maryke Davies. The eight councillors, including former Deputy Mayor Mapaseka Nkoane Mothibi, former Speaker Stefanie Lockman-Naidoo, and former Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) Patrick Monyakoane, were fired. The councillors have since appealed the matter in the Free State High Court. 

The previously failed council sitting was set to elect the executive mayor, deputy mayor, council whip of the troubled council, and Municipal Public Accounts Committee. The metro does not have a permanent Executive Mayor. The ANC's Gregory Nthatisi is acting as the Executive Mayor. 

This comes after the Free State High Court Judge, Sharon Chisiwe, confirmed an interdict against opposition party Leader and AASD president, Papie Mokoena. 

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

OFM News