In an obviously legal procedure, namely that of declaring a motion of no confidence in the deputy mayor, the two parties, with a combined numerical superiority easily ousted the deputy mayor. This was not the first time that civic leaders have cut a colleague's tenure short. The BDP set the ball rolling when its councillors in the North West District, allegedly at instruction from the party top brass, passed a motion of no confidence in opposition sub-council chairpersons as a way of frustrating dissidents who joined the breakaway BMD. Legal as it may be, declaring a motion of no confidence in a civic leader is not without repercussions. The rebounding effect is that plans are frozen or simply thrown out the window as the next leader may not be eager to run with the same plan that his or her predecessor had. In fact it may just be the case that good plan and ideas, once seen as potential electorate-endearing balm, may never see the light of day as politicians who are bent on frustrating rivals reject the ideas simply because they came from the opposition. By opposition we mean any party that is in the minority in a given council - be it the BDP or any one of the opposition parties or a combination of the parties. As the ball rolls we should expect it to gather more dust, more rubbish and it would not be surprising to see very capable civic leaders removed under the same pretext that other councillors have no confidence in them. We could expect the same in marginal districts and sub-districts, or where a given political party no longer has trust in its representative, not because he/she is not performing, but because the person appears to be friends with the rival camp. When common sense is eclipsed by blind political party affiliation, so much that service to the people suffers, then as voters, we have every reason to worry. Civic leaders like mayors and deputy mayors are usually appointed - at least we hope, on the basis of their capability to steer the council or sub-council and bring service and development to the people. It is moot to ask if the next person will go all the way in ensuring that his or her unfairly removed predecessor's vision is kept alive. The person might just have his or her own vision, which may not support or be supported by the previous office holder's vision. Indeed a vision or a shelving of an idea may be what the council needs, but that does not mean it should always be the case. We urge politicians, regardless of party affiliation, to place the needs of the electorate ahead of their petty inter and intra-party squabbling. The nation simply cannot afford to have dysfunctional councils.
Today's thought
