Threats, guards – but no budget

Security has been beefed up for four Nelson Mandela Bay councillors who received death threats the night before Wednesday’s council meeting – warning them to support the budget or risk being killed along with their families.

At an emotion-charged council meeting, where the fourth attempt to pass the 2019/2020 budget failed, three councillors told how they were phoned, and a fourth visited by four men, late on Tuesday.

Patriotic Alliance councillor Marlon Daniels, the United Front’s Mkhuseli Mtsila and AIC councillor and Bay deputy mayor Thsonono Buyeye all received threatening calls late on Tuesday, while COPE councillor Siyasanga Sijadu was visited by four unknown men.

A visibly angry Daniels said he believed the threats were engineered by a councillor in the chamber. But, just a few hours after he said he was no longer interested in a mayoral committee position, he was named as the new political head in charge of economic development, tourism and agriculture as a member of mayor Mongameli Bobani’s executive.

Earlier in the day, hitting his chest in the council chamber, Daniels stood and said: “The engineer of those threats is sitting here in these chambers.

“I was not going to come to this council meeting today. I’m only here because I don’t want to send the wrong signal.

“The threat on my life and that of my family last night made me come today because you know why, they would have thought we got him because the engineer of those threats is sitting here in chambers,” he said.

“The engineer of these threats is one of your councillors, speaker, and I’m hoping that those cronies who are part of this are sitting behind me. “You can go to hell.” Taking off his light blue jacket, under which he wore a casual T-shirt, Daniels said: “I’m not scared of you. I am here and for anyone of you ... You don’t threaten my family.

“Speaker, let me say this to you, I am prepared to commit my first murder ... My family has got nothing to do with the Patriotic Alliance.

“I tell you this much, today this budget will not pass.

“That’s a given and you can take that position that you have for me and stuff it where the sun don’t shine because, me, I am the protector of my family,” he shouted.

Daniels takes over from former economic development portfolio head Queenie Pink, who has been moved to the safety and security portfolio previously headed by Litho Suka. Suka will remain an ordinary councillor.

Sijadu, meanwhile, said four men walked into her Motherwell home early on Tuesday evening and threatened her.

She initially thought they were her brother’s friends.

“They walked into my home and basically said I must vote for the budget and that they were sent by SMMEs.

“Upon inquiry, they decided to tell us that this is not a request but a warning that if I do not vote for the budget today my family is at risk.

“They said my family will be under their scrutiny and is in danger.

“Afterwards, my mother called people and that’s when they started running. I’m not sure where they ran to.”

Mtsila said he was contacted on Tuesday night.

“The threat was that if I don’t pass the budget, I’ll be dead, me and my family.

“As I received those phone calls, I noticed that other councillors also received that.

“If we don’t take these issues seriously, they might escalate and ... it would become a norm for people when they don’t get their political interests to threaten other people.

“We are coming from history here where, recently, 17 people in this city have died, and if now it happens to leaders of this chamber then it’s a serious matter,” Mtsila said.

“It’s a matter that needs recognition, a matter that we [need] to take serious steps [against], and it means as a council we need to open investigations and see who is behind it.”

During one of the breaks, Bobani said in an interview that he, too, had also received threats from an unknown person with a “gravel voice” at about 9.20pm.

The same, unregistered, cellphone number used to contact Bobani was reportedly used to phone Daniels, Buyeye and Mtsila between 8pm and 8.30pm.

Suka said officials had immediately beefed up security around those who had been threatened.

“Secondly, what we’ve done is to consult the SAPS because we are limited when it comes to investigating people’s lives and the SAPS has the capacity to do so. We requested our executive director [of safety and security Keith Meyer] to consult the South African Police Service and to activate their intelligence.

“The investigation is taking place to trace even the phone calls, where they came from and, if needs be, consult the service providers and get [the names of those anonymous [callers] intimidating people.

“As the metro, we have beefed up security around those who received death threats,” Suka said.

Councillors debated the budget later, with the DA saying it could not support it because Integrated Development Plan processes were incomplete and it did not go through a public participation process.

While previously it was the ANC that requested the last three meetings be postponed, the party voted in favour of the budget on Wednesday.

The ANC’s regional convener, Nceba Faku, and co-ordinator, Babalwa Lobishe, were in the public gallery to observe the proceedings.

The budget was not passed when eventually put to the vote because only 60 councillors voted in favour, whereas a 61-member majority is required to pass the budget.

The ANC, UDM, AIC, EFF and United Front voted for the budget, while Daniels had already walked out of the council chamber.

The DA, ACDP and COPE voted against the budget

A meeting will be reconvened on Friday when a fifth attempt will be made to pass the budget.