The African National Congress (ANC) wants out of the coalition government with the "unruly" Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Ekurhuleni, saying the city needed a reconfiguration of political leadership to salvage it from further regression.
"The ANC is firmly of the view that the current state of the City does necessitate the re-configuration of political leadership, as we said, to salvage the City from further regression," ANC's Ekurhuleni coordinator Jongizizwe Dlabathi said.
Dlabathi said this must be done for the sole purpose of serving communities better and to improve the quality of life through the right calibre of leadership.
The ANC and EFF, who are in coalition in the metro, have been at loggerheads for a while now on who should have the upper hand in running the city.
Dlabathi addressed the media at the OR Tambo Government Precinct, Exco Room in Germiston on Tuesday.
This comes after a brawl broke out in the Ekurhuleni council meeting after ANC and EFF councillors got into a fist fight, with water bottles and papers being thrown at each other on Thursday.
This was as the motion for a vote of no confidence against Ekurhuleni Mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana was being tabled. The incident resulted in Ngodwana's phone being snatched during the brawl, but it has since been found.
The mayor is accused of failing to deliver services to the people of Ekurhuleni.
During the briefing, Dlabathi said the ANC was prepared for any eventuality, but will not be part of a collaborative arrangement that was not helpful in taking forward the programme of a better life for all.
"It is not about the positions, nor the perks of governance, but our commitment to building better communities," he said.
He, however, cautioned that the culture of bullying and disrupting the council must come to an end, adding that they believed in robust debates, order and decorum as well as tolerance.
Simultaneously, Dlabathi expressed disappointment in the Speaker of council, Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, for not doing enough to use the authority and the responsibility of maintaining and preserving order in council, against gross disorderly conduct.
"We implore the Speaker to ensure the resumption of the adjourned council soon, if not, we will direct the ANC councillors to use available provision to compel the Speaker to convene," he said.
Furthermore, he said the leadership of the ANC in the region will be engaged in a series of public engagements, starting with the community of Thembisa, in an attempt to address service delivery challenges, including credit control, debt write-offs and unlocking of the indigent bottleneck.
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