The ANCs attempt to opportunistically deploy Msunduzi Deputy Mayor, Councillor Mxolisi Mkhize, to Ward 28 on a “walk-about” to identify service delivery issues, ahead of the by-election, is an insult to residents of the ward that have been suffering for years at the brunt of failed service delivery caused by the very ANC-run municipality that he represents.
The fact is that Msunduzi Municipality is under perpetual administration and has been unable to deliver on even the most basic services such as a stable supply of electricity and water – not to mention the gamut of other services that the municipality is unable to fulfil as per its mandate. Pietermaritzburg, as the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, is meant to be our crowning glory; instead, under this ANC-led administration, it is a derelict eye-sore, certainly not the “city of choice.”
The DA has been fighting for the residents of Msunduzi Municipality at a local, provincial and national government level. We have marched to the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs’ (COGTAs) office to request that Msunduzi’s finances be placed under the control the National Treasury, and requested the intervention of COGTA Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, in the electricity infrastructure crisis in the city.
With regard to the water supply crisis, we have written to the South African Human Right’s Commission (SAHRC) to investigate and summon Msunduzi Municipality to answer on the collapse of water infrastructure and complete lack of water supply in many areas. And, these are only a few of our interventions. We will continue to fight for the residents of Msunduzi whether or not there is a by-election, as we have always done.
It is evident, given the well-documented evidence of the municipality’s severe ongoing local government failures, that the ANC has run this municipality into the ground, and does not care about delivering services to Ward 28 or to Msunduzi Municipality at large. This last-ditch attempt by the ANC at political opportunism to rally support for a by-election is not about care for residents of Msunduzi, but a purely political manoeuvre. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, is still a wolf.
The good news is that the ANCs days are numbered, the voters are proving this.