Dear Durban
The DA in eThekwini is deeply frustrated by the ongoing ANC chaos regarding Zandile Gumede. Gumede has now withdrawn her resignation as the City’s Mayor after initially resigning on Monday.
The council meeting to elect new City leadership that was meant to have taken place today was postponed by the City Manager.
The City Manager has obviously postponed this meeting on the instruction of the ANC, which is completely illegal and inappropriate.
The City Manager should not be taking instructions from political parties.
The DA did predict that Gumede wouldn’t go quietly. We had already resubmitted our motion to remove Gumede from the Executive Committee to the former Council Speaker, William Mapena. Our legal team was consulted in this process.
Mapena disallowed the motion on the basis that it would be ‘impractical to perform’. This is one of the bases for disallowing motions in the rules but was misused for political reasons. We will again consult our legal teams to mount a potential challenge in this regard.
Without clarity as to who is in charge, the city is at risk and is left in the lurch. Section 28 of Council’s Rules of Order prescribes that during any emergency and when Council or committees aren’t sitting, the Municipal Manager takes emergency decisions in consultation with the Mayor.
This currently cannot happen and the legal status of various office bearers is unclear.
A report on business in eThekwini, commissioned by the City and published some time back, showed that ‘corruption’ and ‘poor leadership’ where key reasons why Durban business owners wanted to move their businesses elsewhere.
The economic effect of Gumede’s corruption and the ANC’s catastrophic handling of this matter cannot be overstated. The City’s economy has ground to a halt, with 0% growth under the current circumstances. The poor and unemployed are suffering due to ANC mismanagement.
The ANC has been treating the City like its political football for too long. The biggest losers have been the residents of Durban.
Service delivery has declined sharply whilst the ANC has forgotten its core mandate, and the instability and inconsistencies have created absolute chaos.
The DA is the only choice for the people of eThekwini for clean governance. We have a proven record of creating jobs, delivering title deeds and increasing investments in the municipalities we govern. It is possible for eThekwini too.
Regards
Cllr Nicole Graham
DA eThekwini Caucus Leader
