DA USES ABOLISHED FLOOR CROSSING LEGISLATION
5 March 2013
In a desperate attempt to have a councillor in KwaZulu-Natal's Umzimkhulu Municipality, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has unashamedly applied the now abolished "floor crossing" legislation.
With much fanfare, the DA leader, Ms Helen Zille, recently announced that Mr Jabulani Chiya, an independent councillor in Umzimkhulu Municipality had joined her party.
Mr Chiya quickly changed his "independent councillor" status and referred to himself as a DA councillor. This means that he crossed the floor (changed from being an independent councillor to being a DA councillor) without losing his seat which could only be possible through the use of the now invalid "floor crossing" legislation which the DA vehemently opposed when it was still in existence.
Chiya, the serial party hopper, has since been given a booth by the Umzimkhulu Municipality and a by-election date is expected to be proclaimed very soon to replace him as a Ward 18 councillor. It is worth revealing that Chiya was first an Inkatha Freedom Party member, he then claimed to be an African National Congress (ANC) member before he became an independent candidate during the 2011 local government elections. He was never an ANC member!
We have no doubt that the DA knew very well that it was illegal for them to allow Mr Chiya to become their councillor. They did it simply because they desperately wanted to have a councillor in Umzikhulu Municipality and because they undermined the intelligence of people who voted for Chiya during the local government elections.
Ms Zille and her party owe the people of Ward 18 an apology for having tried to cheat them. This is shocking given that the DA has over the years frantically tried to brand itself as "advocates of the constitution", good governance and the rule of law.
The ANC- led Umzimkhulu Municipality will continue working hard to ensure people of Ward 18 get the kind of government services they deserve and will continue to be their watchdog to prevent opportunists such as Mr Chiya and the DA from undermining them.
Statement issued by Senzo Mkhize, ANC KwaZulu-Natal, March 5 2013
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