COGTA interfering with Jozini hung council

9 September 2016

The Jozini municipality was yesterday once again supposed to meet to elect its executive leadership, for the fourth time. Instead, two hours before the meeting was scheduled to start the acting Municipal Manager, Nkosinathi Zondo, sent an SMS saying that once again the meeting would be cancelled.

The DA, IFP & EFF decided to go to the meeting anyway to demand answers from the Municipal Manager to ascertain why he had abruptly cancelled the meeting and seek clarification on the next meeting that would sit.

The Municipal Manager informed the parties that he had been instructed by COGTA to cancel the meeting because the ANC would once again not be attending the council meeting. When pressed for further information the municipal manager asked to leave the room for a moment, he was then seeing fleeing from the building never to return to the meeting. 

The MEC of COGTA has denied vehemently that her department has had any involvement in interfering with the Jozini hung municipal council, yet her own official confirmed that he had been instructed to cancel the meeting because the ANC would not be attending.

This is once more proof as the DA has contended that there is political interference in Jozini and that the MEC has no desire for the council to function, but in fact wants to create a situation where a re-run of the municipality occurs.

The Chairperson of the ANC, Sihle Zikalala needs to exercise leadership and instruct the ANC councillors to go to work. MEC Dube must also do her job and ensure that if the ANC misses one more meeting she dismisses their councillors as per legislation.

Issued by Zwakele Mncwango, DA KZN Leader, 9 September 2016