'We won't go' - Turncoat DA councillors

The current court battle involving two Nelson Mandela Bay DA turncoat councillors took centre stage at the first council sitting for 2019.

Councillors spent more than 40 minutes debating whether or not councillors Neville Higgins and Trevor Louw should be allowed in the chamber as councillors.

The Port Elizabeth high court declared in December that the two are no longer councillors. Higgins and Louw are, however, appealing the decision.

At the council meeting on Thursday, the DA argued that Higgins and Louw's attendance of the special sitting would put the municipality at risk as the meeting was to deal with matters of compliance.

Councillors are expected to deliberate on the city's annual report.

DA councillor Retief Odendaal said: "This is a special council meeting to deal with matters that deal with compliance issues. We will never hold the people of the city at ransom.

"The fact remains there are vacancies that have been declared. The IEC has not withdrawn the vacancies as the highest decision-making body when it comes to our positions," Odendaal said.

Odendaal said allowing the two councillors to attend meant that the council was ignoring the ongoing by-election campaigning for wards 35 and 37.

"Both the ANC and the DA are actively campaigning. The gentlemen at the back are no longer councillors and them being here is compromising this council," he said.

DA councillor Morne Steyn said the court judgment was still valid.

"The IEC has not withdrawn the vacancies in the wards, no interdict has been brought. The court judgment stands.

"Those people are not councillors and if we proceed we will put every decision we make here at risk of being unlawful," Steyn said.

ANC councillor Makhi Feni said Higgins and Louw had the right to appeal the court judgment.

"There are constitutional right of individuals and they must be respected. Those who studied law should know that there is a constitutional right of the individuals to appeal and challenge that decision," Feni said.

"The issue here is that those who are challenging the appeal must do so in court. We are not the court of law. There's an appeal by these two councillors which means the judgment is not effective until the appeal,"Feni said.

Stand in acting city manager Mbuzeli Nogqala said he had received a legal opinion on the matter.

"The question as to whether the DA validly terminated member of the councillors is the subject of a leave to appeal. I'm advised that councillors remain councillors until their appeal has been heard and decided," Nogqala said.

The councillors also bickered over university qualifications, with Steyn accusing Feni of claiming he was an advocate when he, in fact, held an LLB.

Meanwhile, ANC councillor Andile Lungisa advised the DA to walk up to the Port Elizabeth high Court to argue the matter there.

"To our colleagues from the DA with the two councillors, from where we are sitting, there is a court not very far [away]. They can walk over there and thrash [out] this matter there," Lungisa said.

"Steyn speaks good English with no substance. That's the unfortunate part. Councillor Steyn is failing.  The application has been heard and will be heard in the Grahamstown high court. The procedure is very simple, the status quo remains; the councillors are still councillors," Lungisa said.

Louw said, when asked for comment by HeraldLIVE that the DA's sentiments toward him saddened him.

"It's sad that the party that I have loved for so long feels this way, but we are waiting for our day in court.

"The fact remains that the process that the DA followed was illegal.

"If the speaker rules that we should not be here then we will leave because we are not going to hold the people of this city to ransom; that is simply not who we are," Louw said.

Higgins declined to comment.