The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ordered that acting municipal manager at the uMngeni Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Sandile Buthelezi call the first council sitting by close of business on Monday.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal launched an urgent application calling for the sitting, after the planned inauguration did not take place last week when suspended municipal manager Thembeka Cibane attempted to preside over the council meeting. This is the first time that the DA has won a municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
Leader of the DA in KwaZulu-Natal, Francois Rodgers says they are delighted by the ruling of the court.
“Justice has prevailed. It was interesting to note that the matter was heard before the judge and the judge gave his ruling straight away. There was no time for him to decide, he wasn’t really interested in the excises afforded by the acting municipal manager or indeed the suspended municipal manager,” Rodgers says.
Rodgers has urged all parties to prioritise the needs of the community and service delivery.
“I think this is a clear case where you’ve got municipal managers who are clearly politically aligned and have certain agendas and they have just wasted time. They’ve put the people of uMngeni last and they’ve put themselves first, political interests first and that’s not what we want to achieve as the DA in uMngeni. We want to deliver,” Rodgers added.
DA wins uMngeni Local Municipality in KZN:
