The City of Johannesburg will on Thursday try once again to elect chairpersons of committees.
This is the third attempt following disruptions at the last two sittings.
The African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) want voting to take place via secret ballot, while the Speaker of Council, Vasco Da Gama, has been refusing, arguing that the Municipal Structures Act only makes provision for a secret vote to be used in the election of the Speaker, mayor and chief whip of council.
The EFF has been gunning for the position of committee chair of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee, with the party’s leader Julius Malema urging the Democratic Alliance (DA), which governs Joburg through a coalition to work with the red berets.
The EFF assisted the DA in gaining control of the City of Joburg, which is the country’s economic hub.
Last week’s sitting was characterised by endless delays as different political parties sought to caucus over the way forward.
The previous week, there were violent scenes in the council as parties fought against an open vote for committee chairs going ahead.
The tensions in council have also caused friction between the EFF and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), with the former now threatening to remove its support for the latter in municipalities it governs in KwaZulu-Natal.
The IFP refused to vote with an EFF candidate in the City of Joburg.
On Wednesday, night Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC Lebogang Maile met with the Speaker and parties.
He tweeted that some compromises had been reached, which he said should help bring an end to the disruptions.
Original story on EWN