THE DA KwaZulu-Natal leader, Francois Rodgers MPL, together with uMngeni mayor-elect, Christopher Pappas, are headed to the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday following the failure of the acting municipal manager, Sandile Buthelezi, to call a lawful council meeting.
The inaugural council meeting collapsed on Friday after suspended municipal manager Thembeka Cibane arrived and demanded to chair the meeting.
DA mayor-elect objected to Cibane’s presence and asked her to leave as she was still suspended, but she apparently refused, saying she was no longer under suspension.
Cibane, a member of the African National Congress, was suspended at the end of August after she was implicated in a Special Investigating Unit report.
The DA won the November 1 polls by garnering 13 seats while the ANC clinched 10.
“The failure to elect the office bearers and the Executive Committee of the Municipality means that there is currently no official political leadership, which is against the will of the voters in the municipality,” the DA said in a statement.
“The DA will do everything in its power to make sure that the uMngeni Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the Speaker are elected so that we can start delivering the much needed services to the people.”
Cibane was suspended in August by the council after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) recommended that the council take disciplinary action against her.
The SIU found that she squandered close to R20 million in municipal funds on irregularly awarded tenders for Covid-19 relief.
The SIU also found she misled the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) that the council sat and approved the budget, but there was no council meeting.
According to the SIU, Cibane was found to have altered council meeting minutes which Cogta relied on to approve the use of council money.
