Durban – The DA has accused the ANC of stalling the election of a mayor and executive council members in the Jozini local municipality, in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The municipality was at a standstill, the council was deadlocked and service delivery was being affected, the DA’s Jozini political head Mbali Ntuli said on Friday.
“The Jozini council has now met three times to elect leadership. The first time resulted in a deadlock, which led to the council having to adjourn. The second council meeting ended with the ANC requesting a 10-minute caucus which they never returned from, causing the council meeting to be adjourned.”
ANC councillors did not arrive for the third meeting scheduled for Friday.
Ntuli said ANC provincial chairperson Sihle Zikalala should call the councillors to order.
“How does he justify his party using taxpayers' money for meetings where the ANC simply does not arrive? It is this arrogance that lost the ANC the Jozini municipality in the first place, not to mention elsewhere in the country.”
Ntuli called on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube to intervene.
“It is baffling why the MEC has not resolved this matter the same way other deadlocked municipalities have, with a simple coin toss, if needs be, for the position of speaker.”
She said the ANC’s and MEC’s failure to act against their councillors meant they were complicit in what seemed to be a move to have the council placed under administration and hold by-elections.
Tie
ANC provincial spokesperson Mdumiseni Ntuli said two previous attempts to elect council members had ended in a tie.
On both occasions the ANC and an independent candidate; and the DA, EFF and IFP coalition each received 20 votes.
“Our view is that if you cannot agree on electing a mayor and a speaker, it means that we cannot agree on anything,” Ntuli said.
“Tossing a coin cannot be a solution because it means you must toss a coin on every decision and there is no government that operates like that. A by-election is the most logical and fair process to solve this matter.”
Ntuli denied that the matter was about gaining power and positions.
“It has nothing to do with positions or councillors. The set-up currently will not work,” he said.
The DA’s provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango said the ANC had failed Jozini residents.
“If the municipality fails to sit within 14 days after the elections it will be forced to have a by-election. We have seen that with the ANC: it’s power or nothing.”
Mncwango said the matter could be easily resolved with a coin toss.
The IEC’s provincial chairperson Mawethu Mosery and Cogta spokesperson Musawakhe Mayisela were not immediately available for comment.
