This is according to DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who were speaking at a press conference after the two day Federal Executive conference.

“The decision by the EFF to punish the DA, and ultimately move against a DA-led mayor because of the colour of his skin, is a decision that we simply cannot accept,” Maimane said.

Several notices for motions of no confidence were filed on Wednesday; this, against Mayor Athol Trollip, council speaker Jonathan Lawack, and chief whip Werner Senekal. 

On Friday, Lawack’s office confirmed receipt of the applications and confirmed that a special meeting of council would take place at 08:00 on the 29th of March to consider them.

"It is very clear we face a real threat in Nelson Mandela Bay.""If the motion succeeds, which is not guaranteed, the EFF will have handed the Metro back to the same corrupt ANC that brought that Metro to its knees," said Maimane.

'Turned the city around' 

Maimane said voters had rejected the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay because the city had been so stripped through corruption and maladministration that it could barely deliver any basic services. 

“In 18 months, the DA-led coalition in NMB has turned the city around. We have made progress in basic service delivery, in righting the finances of the Metro, and in delivering a Metro Police department to fight crime,” he said.

He said this progress would be halted if the EFF returned the Metro to the ANC.

“We will mobilise public support to Save Nelson Mandela Bay, and have launched a petition for the public to sign. We encourage all members of the public to sign our petition here.”

“We also encourage the public to contact EFF councillors in Nelson Mandela Bay and make it clear to them that voters rejected the corrupt ANC in NMB, and don’t want them back,” he said.

“The EFF must know that voters, even their own voters, will punish them severely for returning the Metro to the corrupt ANC, just as it is slowly emerging from the legacy of twenty years of corruption.”

News24