Impendle Municipality officials defy ANC suspension and continue their duties
The defiant Zibuse Dlamini and Kwenzakufani "Kho" Dlamini continue as Speaker and mayor of Impendle Local Municipality despite being suspended.
Image: KZN CoGTA
Despite being suspended two weeks ago, both Impendle Local Municipality Mayor Kho Dlamini and Speaker Zibuse Dlamini are continuing with their work.
The two officials were suspended, along with two other councillors, by the KwaZulu-Natal ANC provincial leadership for bringing the party into disrepute.
On February 6, the council was supposed to elect Nokulunga Ndlovu, a preferred ANC leadership mayoral candidate; however, to the embarrassment of the party's leadership watching from the gallery, the councillors elected the two Dlaminis as mayor and Speaker respectively. This prompted the ANC to immediately suspend them.
However, the councillors defied their suspension and continued to perform their duties.
Speaking on Monday at his office, the party chief whip, Thabani Makhaye, who was also elected on the day of defiance, said it was business as usual for all of them as they continued with their jobs since their election.
Makhaye, who is also a ward councillor, argued that none of them were served with suspension letters, except hearing about it from the media.
“As I speak to you, I am at work doing my work as a council chief whip, so we are working, and we do not know of any suspension. We saw a statement in the media, but we never received any suspension letters from our organisation,” said Makhaye.
ANC Moses Mabhida Regional Coordinator Zet Luzipo said the councillors were served with letters through acceptable forms of communication, and they decided to continue with their defiance.
“For us, they are suspended, and if they continue working, they do so on behalf of those they represent, not the ANC anymore,” said Luzipo.
The 10-seat ANC municipality outside Pietermaritzburg had been without a mayor since July last year after ANC’s Buyisani Mlaba was ousted through a vote of no confidence. The motion was filed by the EFF and all ANC councillors, except the mayor, who abstained, paving the way for the removal of Mlaba.
Since July last year, several attempts to elect a new mayor by the ANC provincial leadership have failed. The ANC reportedly wanted to bring in someone from outside; however, the councillors resisted, allegedly demanding that the new mayor be appointed from within, leading to a deadlock.
The ANC’s dilemma was that all its councillors, except Speaker Sizwe Ndlela, are ward councillors. For the ANC leadership to bring in an outside candidate, Ndlela had to resign. His refusal has stalled the process of electing a new mayor.
He finally resigned, paving the way for Ndlovu to be sworn in and ultimately wear mayoral chains; however, she remains an ordinary council member after councillors did not vote for her.
Despite electing themselves without the ANC provincial leadership’s blessings, the IFP-led Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department under MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi recognises their election.