The Democratic Alliance in Mooi-uMngeni has written to KwaZulu-Natal Premier and ANC Provincial Chairperson, Sihle Zikalala, to request his immediate intervention following the illegal protest led by ANC members and supporters which has brought a halt to service delivery in uMngeni.
The protest is now in its third day with disgruntled ANC members and supporters taking to the streets to protest for the removal of the Municipal Manager, Thembeka Cibane. The protestors indicate that they are there to stand against alleged corruption and nepotism in the municipality. With the 2021 local government elections around the corner, this is just another factional fight that is being disguised as a fight against corruption. Only two months ago factionalism in the ANC led to the removal of the speaker further disrupting the operations of the council. The protests have brought the Municipal offices to a standstill and many businesses in the city have been affected. Law-abiding citizens must now bear the brunt of ANC internal issues.
It is no secret that there are rapidly deteriorating service delivery and financial challenges in the municipality. Many of these challenges can be linked to decisions taken by ANC public representatives or politically deployed municipal officials. The latest report from the internal auditor of the municipality describes the spending around Covid-19 as “Catastrophic” and the Auditor General’s most recent findings paint a bleak picture of this ANC-led municipality. These are only two examples of the collapsing state of the municipality.
The premier has for a long time now been speaking about his plans to root out corruption and mismanagement in municipalities. However, we have yet to see anything actioned in the uMngeni Municipality.
The premier must get his public representatives and members under control and put the interests of the residents and citizens first. The lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in this municipality have been placed at risk due to the continued ANC infighting, poor governance and lack of leadership.
We have also written to MEC Ravi Pillay who is the district champion for uMgungundlovu to ask him to intervene. In addition to this, the DA has questioned the MEC for Community Safety, Bheki Ntuli, on why SAPS Howick has not received support from Public Ordering Policing to contain the illegal protest.
The DA needs less than 9% to win uMngeni and turn the municipality around. If the protestors truly stand against corruption they will vote the ANC out in 2021 and vote the DA in a party with a track record of good governance and service delivery. Only under the DA will residents in this municipality finally get the quality service delivery that they deserve.