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ActionSA has once again immediately terminated the membership of another councillor in Tshwane over accusations of voting with the ANC-EFF block to help elect disgraced former mayor Muruna Makwarela and current Speaker, Mncedi Nzwanana.
The party accused its PR councillor, Mandla Mhlana, of having repeatedly failed polygraph tests to which ActionSA councillors were subjected after it emerged that some councillors within the DA-led multiparty coalition had dissented and voted with the ANC-EFF block during the secret ballot.
READ: Tshwane councillors should not be persecuted for exercising their democratic right – EFF
In a letter to Mhlana dated March 17, ActionSA ethics and disciplinary committee chairperson Alistair Shaw said the party was of the view that Mhlana was “deceitful” and that his alleged actions amounted to “conduct that deliberately disrupts and destabilises the party and its Tshwane structures. Furthermore, your conduct brings the party into egregious disrepute”.
Mhlana was initially given until Thursday to give reasons ActionSA should not automatically terminate his membership over violating its interim constitution and bringing the party into disrepute.
His immediate expulsion from ActionSA comes a few days after the party terminated the membership of another councillor, Nkele Molapo, whose ousting occurred after accusations of giving information to and continuing a close association with her partner Abel Tau, a former leader who was also expelled from the party and formed his own organisation.
ActionSA and the DA have come under scrutiny over their concerted attempts to force their councillors to vote according to the party line, as the two parties have previously advocated for legislators to be allowed to vote with their conscience as part of reinforcing democratic expression.
Shaw stated that Mhlana had been asked during the first polygraph test on March 6 if he had voted for Makwarela and that, while he had answered “no”, results had “indicated deception detected regarding your answer”.
Mhlana was among several councillors who had failed the test, which resulted in some of them being subjected to a secondary test on March 11, with others failing it again.
Shaw accused Mhlana of being among the councillors it suspected of having defied the instruction to vote for its councillor, Kholofelo Morodi, as Speaker on March 13 and of instead voting with the ANC-EFF block to help elect Nzwanana of the ATM as Speaker.
Morodi’s chances of a successful election were already dealt a blow after the IEC declared all 69 votes by DA councillors as spoilt after the party instructed them to vote through numbers in a bid to monitor dissent.
READ: ActionSA closes rank over audio clip linking its leadership to Tau's ouster
But ActionSA accused two of its councillors of having continued to defiantly vote against the party line during the sitting.
Shaw pointed out that while the DA, ActionSA, FF Plus and ACDP had a total of 108 councillors, the coalition vote had secured 106 votes, and not 108 when the DA spoilt votes were factored in.
Shaw said:
While ActionSA has admitted that the polygraph test was not conclusive, Mhlana said the party had told him that it was “so sure that I voted for Makwarela” ahead of the council sitting for the election of Speaker on March 13.
He accused ActionSA's national chairperson, Michael Beaumont, of giving him a “special blue pen” to cast his ballot as part of ensuring that his vote was identifiable.
He added the party had also been secretive about the results of the polygraph test as he had not been shown any results from the tests other than being told by Beaumont that it indicated “deception”.
Mhlana’s lawyer, Sakumzi Langa, has now written to ActionSA, demanding written statements from those alleging that he voted against the party line as well as the results of both polygraph tests taken on March 6 and 11.
He stated:
“Given your statement in your letter that it is “clear” that our client voted for councillor Ndzwanana, kindly provide our client with your evidence in this regard.”
