What Happened to the Queen Bee?

She still remains the first female mayor of Johannesburg, despite only being in office for a period of 10 months. Dr Mpho Phalatse is the girl she thinks she is, but not for the political scene unless she leaves the smurfs.

WHO IS SHE?

Dr Phalatse is a Tshwane baby and is no stranger to its surrounding countryside, as a student she lived with her grandmother in a village called Hebron before joining her parents in a township and later a suburb. She credits her upbringing for her new found political career. The Dr made history when she became the first female mayor of Johannesburg in November 2021, she holds a doctorate in medicine from the Sefako Makgatho Health Services University. Our queen bee is also a medical doctor with an experience in the health sector, in an interview on ENCA she did share her story and talked about her time as an emergency doctor for the Alexandra clinic and how her experience opened her eyes to the cruelties of this world and the effects of crime in the community and one’s health. She always had a drive to serve humanity and this is no secret. To be a medical doctor with an experience on how things work in the health sector is a green flag, when she joined the DA in 2016 they did not waste time and they elected her, she was also appointed as the MMC for Health & Social Services Development between August 2016-October 2019. During her time as the executive city councillor she achieved her goal and extended the working hours for all clinics in the city as well as, the city’s multi-faceted substance abuse prevention and treatment strategy among other initiatives.
Her campaign manager also had positive things to say about her, my question is then this why did he not advise her about the dangers of being an arrogant? Or is it a smurf thing? Their ignorance to reality is way too loud, I say this because during that time her campaign manager sounded smart and shared a gem. “In this environment where no party has a majority, you are fighting to get a configuration where your partners guarantee you five years of stability” This statement should have been something they affirm every morning so they act like their words not just a banger that got hands clapping for a few seconds.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Seeing that she climbed the ladder of excellence within the ranks of the DA without being spoon-fed by the founders, she quickly became a threat. The mistake they may have made was to think they could control her every move like they did those who came before her- it is no secret that this party is anti-black and anti-poor, what is happening to her is proof. There can never be a perfect leader, but it is their party that protects them when the firing of shots begins, at first I wondered why it seemed like the smurfs were dragging their feet when it came to rising to her defence whenever the rivals threatened her-only to be met with a list of self-inflicted mistakes she had committed that they were probably keeping tabs on. Note that they aren’t in order:

1.During the SA friends of Israel National Conference held in 2018, she made a declaration that set political parties into a frenzy when she declared that she and the city of JHB are friends of Israel, even polishing it off with a shalom shalom, despite South Africa’s diplomatic policy and not being given the green light from the mayor or her committee. This led to her immediate suspension by the Mayor of the City at the time, Herman Mashaba. When she said that she also exposed her disregard for what the Palestinians were subjected to under the Israelites.

-The ANC JHB Caucus strongly condemned her actions and “Unequivocally” distanced themselves from her utterances in a statement anchoring their stance on supporting the people of Palestine.

-The EFF JHB Caucus said it was “Deeply disturbed” by the “Chronically incompetent statement” and called for Mashaba to remove her, they called her statement “Juvenile” and “ignorant of the geo-political landscape of the Middle-East” “The MMC has essentially in her moment of infantile fascism recognise the vicious state of Israel on our behalf and reduced the entire city to Trump’s level of political illiteracy” it said. -Despite their attempt to save themselves by keeping quiet because she was not lying about their stance on the issue, they distanced themselves from her statement by sending the DA student organisation federal leader Yusuf Cassin to speak on the matter and he was quick to say her views were not a representation of the views by the DA and that charges against her would be laid accordingly.

2. When the community of Diepkloof lived in darkness for weeks without end, she stood by Eskom and shifted the blame to those who did not pay their debts. She did not approach the matter like a leader, which left a bitter taste in our mouths.
-Did she forget the promises she made to the people of JHB, or are those only reserved for the privileged ones?
-Was all that talk on that interview about her experience in Alex and the change she wanted to implement just for show? Because she sounded very relatable at the time.
-The residents of Diepkloof where plunged into darkness for weeks, due to cable theft, electricity diversion and outstanding bills which affect the entire township’s grid. Now instead of standing by her people and sympathising with them our queen stood by Eskom and defend it shifting the blame onto the residents of Diepkloof by calling on them to pay their debts, for one to be arrogant and blind to the truth is another thing. How does one even link cable theft to outstanding bills?
-She was also rude in her response because according to her the issue was far from being a humanitarian one but a sustainability issue. Her attitude towards the community of Diepkloof was distasteful and he chose to deal with the matter from a place of privilege, which reignited that flame her Israel declaration set alight and she got tongues wagging again. When Ms Funzani Matsila was asked about her view on this, she had this to say “She speaks as if she is Eskom’s spokesperson, rather than a public servant, her mannerisms and principles are very anti-poor”
-It is no secret that the blue party is that of white bourgeois, she exudes this everything about her as a public servant screams privilege.

3.

Remember when she actually won the unexpected Showdown with the original smurfs?
When that distasteful comment found itself on her timeline, could it not have been an indication of danger? A warning perhaps? That party is for those who founded it but her presence garners the support of those they despise because, they are the majority at the end of the day and her excelling is clearly something they can not stand. When a puppet starts to outshine its master in an unexpected manner, the master will flip the script and complicate things for the puppet just to reaffirm or flaunt his power.
-That comment was clearly an indication from the original smurfs and her response was uncalled for because, she put them in their place very quickly and embarrassed them.
-If we are to be honest, Oom’s comment wasn’t necessary. It was irrelevant but the tone was aggressive. The queen bee buzzed her way into their nostrils and they just had to come for her.
-It is unfair to call out others outside your home, when your fingers start pointing outside your gates and into the homes of others, you will remain blind to the truth which isn’t too far from you. Is it really ActionSA’s fault and all the others you called out?
-Oom’s tone was off, that comment was lame I get it. But did you give yourself time to sit down and try remember a black leader who stood their ground when they were being bullied by the higher ups, that lasted for long?
-Where Are De Lille, Maimane, and Baloyi now? Why is it that Oom decided to come for you like that when you have been doing well? The timing of things is not too far apart could he not wait for another time to tweet, or find another way to comment like that without grabbing our attention. A person who is confident enough to undermine you on public platforms, isn’t a friend of yours.
-The spat occurred not long after they updated the public on its outcomes on the 5th of June 2022. Now Oom on the other hand could no longer keep to himself and he commented on the Mayor’s strategic planning session, telling her that her office needed to focus on repairing pavements, potholes and traffic lights. Now this is a comment that you would expect from a leader of the opposition not one of the founders of your organisation. It was the queen bee’s response to the attacker that shook their foundations, because again she is the girl she thinks is. She did not take kindly to his criticism and she responded by saying “You are too old for this twitter trolling behaviour of yours. If you want to contribute constructively to the rebuilding of the city, please send an email to mikemo@jhb.org.za”
-Her response was met by a sweet warning from the former DA Deputy Chief Whip who said her comment was “Extremely disrespectful, to say the least. If it were not for Tony, the DP/DA would not exist and you certainly would not be the Mayor. A little humility is in order” Oom Waters just had to snap and he wasted no time in issuing a sweet warning. But the response did not throw her off, the queen bee responded to the wasps by saying “What’s even more concerning is that you actually believe what you’ve written. The people of the DA make the party, each and every single one of them. We will not standby and allow retrogressive behaviour to fester in the name of humility” This was a huge slap in the face because she flaunted her intelligence and it was humbling.
-The party’s Nico de Jager weighed in by responding to Oom by reminding him about the relevance and importance of these sessions, especially when running a city. Unlike the Dr his response was polite.
Aunty H also entered the chat encouraging the queen to keep on keeping on, especially because she according to Auntiza held the toughest job nationally by managing a 9-party coalition while trying to fix a broken city.
– Dealing with the arrogant Ooms when you are being cheered on by the Tannie must have been a tiresome experience, especially when your race isn’t respected, then there’s the pressure from your political rivals.

4. When allegations of corruption and maladministration were levelled against the DA-led administration in the COJ, it was not long after the public spat with the Ooms.
-Articles in the media changed lanes and their darling slowly became the villain. Those articles signalled that there was trouble in paradise, the first was on the 27th of July 2022
-Since her appointment in November 2021, there had always been general discontent among parties over their failure to reach an outright majority in the metro.
-The first council sitting for the year 2022 was chaotic and it set the tone for months to come, instead of solutions arising the problems kept on multi-plying and in March the battle lines were drawn in the city’s governing coalition over the appointment of the City Manager and in June, the City’s MMC for Economic Development Nkululeko Mbundu, who was embroiled in a municipal tender row which intensified the friction that existed in the multi-party coalition government prompting the ANC Caucus to open a case against Mbundu.
-Lest we forget the case of illegal acquisition of spying equipment being opened at the Hillbrow Police Station against the former Mayor Herman Mashaba, Dr Phalatse, Speaker of Council, Vasco da Gama and the DA as the official opposition. It was believed that the equipment was being used by the COJ, there were also allegations of irregularities in the appointment of the acting council secretary that were made at the time. The Dr had this to say” The Investigation, which I requested on 16 April 22 and the subsequent 3-page report confirms what the JHB multi-party government has long contended. The City of JHB and the Group Forensic & Investigation Services do not own nor do they use spy equipment. The report is clear in its articulation, where it states that the instruments in question are technical surveillance countermeasure equipment. The equipment is utilised for the identification of eavesdropping devices and cannot be repurposed to perform any other offensive or collection functions. It is not intelligence gathering equipment as alleged “she said using a quote from an investigative report from the office of the Director-general of the State Security Agency during a media briefing at the Hillbrow police station. This was motivated by the release of a joint memorandum by the minority opposition parties and the Independent Allied Workers Union on Monday which called for their arrest.
– Why stand up to defend shady behaviour with an arrogant smug?
-Dr Phalatse has also been accused of subverting evidence against the former head of the anti-corruption unit, Shadrak Sibiya around the unlawful acquisition of counterintelligence instruments under Herman’s leadership. There are articles that provide more in-depth information about other cases, even then she was quick to refute these allegations because they taint her party’s image and she arrogantly had this to say about the Vasco da Gama situation “The very serious and unsubstantiated allegations, made by councillors and rogue city officials of among other things, fraud, corruption and even espionage will not be left unchallenged. There are internal policies and regulations that will guide the Speaker of Council and acting City Manager, Mr Bryne Maduka on the appropriate way forward to allow the process unfold without prejudice. It must be stated that the allegations the multi-party government, the Speaker of Council and the City’s Group Audit Committee must be seen in the context of the work that we are doing to rid the City of corruption & those who practice it”
– That response was arrogant and very much like the DA.

On the 30th of September the multi-party coalition in the COJ collapsed after she was removed as the Mayor, despite her attempts to stop this from happening through garnering support from the masses with her #HandsOffJohannesburg strategy to save the city. The coalition consisted of the DA, ActionSA, Inkatha Freedom Party,FF+,Patriotic Alliance, ACDP,COPE,UIM and the ATM. She was ousted by 139 councillors including those from the Patriotic Alliance and The ANC’s Dada Morero was installed as the Executive Mayor.
ActionSA may have led the charge to have a member of the IFP elected as a speaker, which was supported by all other partners of the coalition, it was the DA who chose to look the other way and it rejected the proposal because it had its own candidate, Alex Christians in mind.
It is very weird for the DA to want to shift the blame and not shed light on the arrogance they displayed whenever their coalition partners suggested something. Their arrogance in inconsiderate ways led the Patriotic Alliance to jump ship and vote with other disgruntled parties to install Mme Colleen Makhubele from Cope as the Speaker of Council. The Dr forgot to fill us in on this. Maybe ask yourself if the letter received by the Coalition Technical Task Team from Auntiza and her Deputy could have prompted this. They undermined all other coalition partners and anchored their stance on not supporting this reconfiguration of the coalition. Before shifting the blame to others, why not deal with the arrogance you are known for? The Dr was quick to blame ActionSA despite them saying they were willing to continue with the coalition in the two metros, just not JHB.

Ever since her removal she launched a court bid to set aside Speaker Makhubele’s decision to hold an extraordinary council meeting, that revolved around her removal. She urged the courts to declare the adoption of the motion and Moreros appointment as invalid, do not forget that this will be her second attempt to save herself or her career as Mayor. The first attempt was when she launched that #HandsOff campaign to save the city on social media platforms not the ground, which flopped because her bid to have the sitting interdicted was struck off the roll on Friday the 30th. It reasoned that she had already been ousted before the matter could be heard virtually.

I ask again, was it political or personal because the timing of things cannot be coincidental, this is what happens when you irritate the higher ups- and your disconnectedness from the ground is what makes things worse, how can the anti-poor stand by you when you silenced their cries with arrogant responses one would expect from Steenhuisen? Stop it with the embarrassment and take your L, not all hope is lost, just stop it with the blame game if you aren’t going to do the introspection. You are still the first female mayor.

Sources :

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