To ensure effective leadership in eThekwini Municipality, the announcement of senior leadership positions filled in the City was made at a special Full Council meeting held at the Durban City Hall on 5 September.
The incumbent Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, Deputy Mayor Belinda Scott and Speaker Weziwe Thusi were elected and took an oath of office to unwaveringly serve the residents of eThekwini.
They were elected following a ballot voting process which was overseen by officials from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
ANC’s vacant Executive Committee positions were also filled at the meeting. These are councillors Sipho Kaunda, Thanduxolo Sabelo, Ntokozo Sibiya and Nompumelelo Sithole. Mayor Kaunda and Councillor Belinda Scott. Councillor Sibongiseni Mkhize is now the Chief Whip of the ANC.
Meanwhile, Councillor Yogiswarie Govender filled a vacant DA Executive Committee seat.
Mayor Kaunda, in his inaugural address, pledged to continue to serve the people.
“I am humbled by the election to office. I wish to thank the previous executive committees for their work done in the City since the formation of the eThekwini Metro in 2000. However, while great strides have been made in the City, much still needs to be done to reverse the spatial planning of apartheid which continues to haunt and divide,” he said.
“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 collective wisdom and the efforts of all of us,” he said.
Mayor Kaunda said Durban has earned the 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,” said Mayor Kaunda.
He stressed that this will only be achieved 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.”
He said as part of a concerted accelerated service delivery approach, he intends developing a turnaround plan to address urgent service delivery needs.
This includes an improved refuse removal and collection service, dealing with water and electricity cuts and supply, ensuring a proper billing system, clean and good governance, dealing with problem buildings, crime and the enforcement of by-laws and improving the stormwater drainage system.
“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,” Mayor Kaunda 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.”
Councillor Thusi said it was a privilege to assume the position of the Speaker and acknowledged the important role local government played in fast-tracking service delivery.
“The biggest goal we want to achieve during this term is a clean audit for the City. Thank you for entrusting me to uplift the quality of life of all eThekwini residents,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Scott said she will lend a hand in ensuring that the City enforces its by-laws. She called for fiscal discipline and more efforts to root out corruption wherever it rears its ugly head.
“All cities that are doing well in the world owe it to their enforcement of by-laws. They must not only exist on paper; they need to assist us in ridding our City of any illicit behaviour that could ruin it. We will only do this by working together irrespective of our political persuasions. Every cent of taxpayers’ money should go towards service delivery. Our people are pinning their hopes on this City to improve their well-being,” she said.
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