GOOD Statement by Jonathan Cupido,
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor & Caucus Whip
27 March 2025
Today, the leader of the opposition, ANC’s Banele Majingo not only betrayed his party but all members of the Cape Town opposition. Majingo resigned from the ANC and joined the DA, the announcement happened during council adjournment after an opposition-led motion of no confidence in Cape Town Speaker, Felicity Purchase.
In February, Majingo submitted the motion on behalf of the multiparty opposition. Councillor Majingo chose to hide his decision and was not present in council, when the item was called. This resulted in the motion of no confidence being dismissed from the agenda.
As GOOD, we will bring our own motion of confidence against the speaker. It is clear we cannot rely on the majority opposition, the ANC. They have become unreliable and ineffective. Purchase has failed in her duty to represent all members of council and must be held accountable.
The Speaker decided to move the 30 January meeting to a virtual session without consulting any parties. In an email sent to councillors on the 27th of January, the Speaker said her office had been “advised of planned disruptions to Council proceedings”. It is our belief that the decision was nothing more than a veiled attempt to protect MMCs JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg from public scrutiny following the Hawks raid on their office.
The Speaker is responsible to the people of Cape Town and all members of council, including the opposition. She is obligated to protect councillors’ rights to freedom of speech and ensure that the council operates in accordance with the rules.
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