Durban - After thirteen days in office, the mayor of uMhlathuze Local Municipality on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Nkonzoyakhe Donda, has been replaced in a move sanctioned by the IFP’s national executive committee this week.
The party replaced Donda with Xolani Ngwezi, a member of the National Assembly who previously served on the party’s executive committee in the King Cetshwayo District, and is now the chair of the IFP’s uMhlathuze constituency.
IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said on Wednesday that the party thanked Donda for holding the fort while it made changes to its PR candidate list. The shuffle came after a recommendation by its national deployment committee (NDC) regarding incumbent councillors was approved by the NEC following the local government elections in November.
The uMhlathuze Municipality encompasses towns like Richards Bay and Empangeni, two of the province’s big economic contributors, next to eThekwini.
“With regards to uMhlathuze Local Municipality, the name of the Hon. Xolani Ngwezi, MP, was approved for mayor,” Hlengwa said.
“As his name was not on the PR List, and because the IEC’s rules do not allow for changes to lists during the period of constituting municipal councils, Cllr Dr Nkonzoyakhe Donda was approved as caretaker mayor. This decision was communicated to Dr Donda by the NDC before he took office.
“Accordingly, when the uMhlathuze Local Municipality was constituted on November 23, 2021, Dr Donda was elected mayor. Now that the party is able to amend its PR List, the NEC resolved on Monday, December 6, 2021, to implement its November 22, 2021 decision that Hon. Xolani Ngwezi, MP, was redeployed from the NCOP to be the mayor of uMhlathuze Local Municipality,” Hlengwa said.
Political Bureau