The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Metsimaholo Local Municipality has successfully reversed the election of African Independent Congress’ Jack Malindi as the new mayor.
This as the Free State High Court on Wednesday declared the council meeting held earlier this month where Malindi was elected as unlawful and invalid.
Malindi was elected following a motion of no confidence in DA mayor, Jeff Zwane.
Federal leader Helen Zille in a statement said the court has vindicated her party.
DA caucus leader in Metsimaholo, Thulani Mbana, says the party has made significant strides towards eradicating Eskom debt inherited and that the municipality is now on the road towards financial recovery.
Mbana elaborates, “We are working with members of the community and civic organisations to address service delivery and form partnerships to address backlogs. We cannot allow this progress to be reversed by the ANC/EFF. The DA reiterates its commitment towards transparency, accountability and demonstrating that where we govern, we govern well. We will continue to fight to uphold the rule of law and safeguard responsible governance to ensure that we create a prosperous and well-managed municipality for all Metsimaholo residents.”
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the municipality says while it has welcomed the court judgment, this does not change its objection to the reinstatement of the DA’s Jeff Zwane as mayor.
EFF Provincial Secretary, Bosanku Msimanga says, “As EFF, we respect and accept the outcomes of the court, but they won’t result in us changing our decisions. So, it’s not going to change our stance of removing Zwane. We will continue to remove Zwane even if it can mean removing Zwane 100 times we will do so…”
Sewage spillages
On issues of service delivery, residents of Oranjeville in the Free State have been complaining about sewage spillages in their area. They accuse the Metsimaholo Municipality of ignoring sewage spillages.
More details in the report below from June:
