ETHEKWINI Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda wants to restore the image of Durban locally and internationally, to its glory days.
In accepting the chains of office at a meeting of council on Thursday, 5 September, Kaunda pledged to serve the people of the city.
“As we assume office, our main task is to serve the people and to ensure that we turn the City around to respond to the demands and aspirations of residents. This task requires a collective wisdom and the efforts of all of us,” he said.
The new leadership were elected via a ballot voting process overseen by officials from the Independent Electoral Commission. Kaunda received 108 of the estimated 203 votes cast while the DA’s Nicole Graham who was also nominated for the position received 82 votes.
There were 13 spoilt votes.
In addition to Kaunda, eThekwini Municipality’s new senior leaders included Deputy Mayor Belinda Scott, Speaker Weziwe Thusi.
The other vacant ANC seats on the Executive Committee were filled by Sipho Kaunda, Thanduxolo Sabelo, Ntokozo Sibiya and Nompumelelo Sithole.
Councillor Sibongiseni Mkhize will serve as the Chief WHip of the ANC. Councillor Yoiswarie Govender filled a vacant DA seat on EXCO.
His election was loudly cheered by supporters from the ANC benches.
In his address, Kaunda said Durban had earned a reputation of not only being a premier tourism and events destination, but also as an investment destination.
“We need to restore the image of our City both locally and internationally to its glory days,” he said, stressing that this could only be ahcieved through “unity of purpose.”
“Without unity the City will not realise its full potential. Unity will be the foundation and hallmark of this Municipality for the next two years. We therefore call on all councillors to work with us as we embark on a journey to stabilise and reposition eThekwini.”
Kaunda went on to say he would develop a turnaround plan to address urgent service delivery needs. This included an improved refuse removal and collection service and dealing with water and electricity cuts and supply.
“We will ensure a proper billing system, clean governance and deal with problem buildings, crime and the enforcement of bylaws. We will also look at improving the storm water drainage system,” he said. “We will also focus on high investment and drive tourism while we strive to provide a safe, reliable and affordable public transport system. We have not forgotten about radical socio-economic transformation and will continue to implement this while promoting unity and social cohesion among residents,” he said.
He vowed to work towards creating a conducive environment for businesses to grow while building capacity to work with licensing authorities to fast track planned developments.
He outlined the strategy to deal with crime in the City saying: “One of the ways to make the Municipality attractive to business investment is by putting tough measures to deal with crime and lawlessness in place. Working with the police, we will identify all the crime hotspots within the Municipality and develop an integrated safety plan to eradicate crime in these areas.”
Former Mayor Zandile Gumede, in an interview with Berea Mail, congratulated the new Mayor and said she looked forward to working together with the new leadership.
The DA’s Nicole Graham, in an interview with Berea Mail after the council meeting, said she was encouraged by the support for the DA and looked forward to the 2021 elections.
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