Acting eThekwini mayor happy to be alive after alleged poisoning

eThekwini Acting Mayor Fawzia Peer has confirmed that the bottled water which she drank at the city’s council meeting earlier this week was allegedly laced with paraffin. Peer was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

“When I drank the water it was like paraffin and the repercussion of the paraffin was that it actually inflamed my entire mouth. It inflamed my mouth, for the last two days I could not eat very well, and it’s still very inflamed – the inside of my mouth. Also, I must thank City Hospital for immediately giving me treatment where charcoal was put into me,” says Peer.

Peer was on Thursday evening allowed to go home from a local Durban hospital after receiving medical treatment.  Lab tests are to be conducted on the water.

Peer will on Sunday attend a prayer service at the Bethsaida Ministries International in Stonebridge.

Minority Front councillor Jonathan Annipen says as a precaution tight security measures will be imposed for the Acting Mayor.

“Particularly in light of the fact that she’s taken over the reins of the municipality in a very difficult time and more especially because of the incident that had happened of this alleged poisoning. So that meeting takes place on Sunday at 8am at the Bethsaida Ministries in Stonebridge. Councillor Peer has confirmed that she will be attending, of course, there will be tight security and security protocol will be accompanying her. I think that there is possibility of limited interaction with the public, but yes she has confirmed that she will be in the meeting.”

Following the incident, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the Minister of Cooperative Governance Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to step in and intervene in the eThekwini municipality.

DA caucus leader in the council, Nicole Graham, says the working of the municipality has ground to a halt and urgent intervention is needed.

“It’s clear that basic services in eThekwini has been so badly politicised, especially if you look at the DSW contracts and the paralysis that many of the line departments find themselves in, that they simply aren’t able to function as they should be; because either the wrong people are working there for political reasons or we have contractors who can’t be doing the job that they’re supposed to be doing because they are there to do work for the ANC and not for anyone else.”

eThekwini’s Mayor Zandile Gumede is out on bail after appearing in court in connection with alleged fraud relating to a tender. She’s taken 30 days leave from the council at the request of the provincial ANC and Peer is acting in her position.

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