THE eThekwini Municipality's full council meeting descended into chaos when EFF members started fighting the Metro cops and security guards who were ordered to remove its members from the meeting.
The meeting started smoothly on Tuesday, 31 October, and the Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda gave a report on the grants that the city received as well as funds allegedly returned to the National Treasury.
Chaos erupted when Speaker Thabani Nyawose opened the floor for the council members to engage in the report delivered by Kaunda.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa led the floor but was interrupted when one of the EFF members asked the speaker to grant them 10 minutes to discuss the report. They said what the mayor presented was different to what they had seen before.
Nyawose granted the request, and the meeting took a 10-minute break to allow the caucus to take place.
But after the caucus break, EFF members started to rise on different points. They were also demanding the report to be given to them in a hard copy.
They said they wanted the same report that the mayor was reading out.
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The members of eThekwini Council fighting each other during the full council meeting. Video supplied pic.twitter.com/qLbRx5omCy
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Speaker said: “I have made a decision that information will not be available in this meeting.”
He said whoever needed the information must request it through the correct processes.
Mthethwa continued with his debate and said if the municipality loses any grants, all those behind that must also go.
EFF Councillor Themba Mvubu said the problem they had was that the municipality had people who thought they were cool.
“We are not going to be controlled by any administrators,” said Mvubu.
When the IFP took the floor, the EFF asked for city manager Musa Mbhele to leave the house alleging that he was not doing his job.
The debate continued to the ANC benches, and when Kaunda took the floor to debate, points of order started coming from different parties.
After addressing the points of order, the speaker suggested that the meeting move to the next item.
But the EFF refused to continue with the meeting if the city manager was still in the house, and that was when the chaos erupted.
The members of EFF started singing and standing up, interrupting the meeting.
The speaker then warned the EFF members that he would chase them out, but they continued.
The speaker then ordered the Whip of the Council Snegugu Sishange to address the EFF members.
But the members continued with their points of order, putting the meeting at a standstill.
The Speaker requested the EFF members to leave the meeting, but they refused.
The Speaker then called on the security to remove the EFF members from the meeting.
The EFF members started fighting the security guards that were taking them out.
