The EFF's planned motion of no confidence in Nelson Mandela Bay metro mayor Athol Trollip is to "punish" the DA for not supporting land expropriation without compensation, TimesLive reported.
The EFF wants to remove Athol Trollip as mayor on Thursday, and the DA will lose control of the council if the motion succeeds.
EFF leader Julius Malema reportedly told a rally in Nelson Mandela Bay on Wednesday that the motion of no confidence was about the land question.
Malema reportedly said "our children" were going to ask what the EFF did when the DA voted against land expropriation.
"So why Trollip? Trollip is a national chairperson of the DA. He was chairing a meeting that took a decision that said 'we are not going to support the land' [sic]. He must know there are consequences for that... If we punish them in Nelson Mandela [sic] in order to get the message to them‚ let it be done. For the land everything else can be done. For as long as the matter of the land is restored firmly on the table‚" Malema reportedly said.
Meanwhile, Trollip's prospects have improved now that smaller parties in the council have decided to support him. According to News24, on Wednesday night the African Independent Congress said it would support Trollip, meaning that, according to the numbers, Trollip might hold on to his position by a few votes.
The Herald reported that Malema said the EFF would "come for him [Trollip] again and again" if the motion against him fails.
"Once the EFF pronounces on you, you must know that you are going... We don't stop. Tomorrow, we are going to attempt to remove Trollip and if we fail, we'll come back again until we collapse him and teach him a lesson. We've taken a decision and there's no retreat about it," Malema reportedly said.
"How many motions of no confidence did [former South African president Jacob] Zuma [survive]? Where is Zuma today? Who is Trollip who survives on some 50/50 arrangement? Zuma had 60 percent plus support, but when the EFF said come here, he ran away," Malema claimed.