Opposition welcomes new Ehlanzeni mayor
Cllr Terrance Shabangu was advised to always try to better the lives of the people and prioritise their interests over those of the ANC and himself.
The official opposition parties in the Ehlanzeni District Municipality have welcomed and endorsed the newly elected executive mayor.
However, they cautioned him to always work to improve the lives of the people and put their interests first before those of the ANC and himself.
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Shabangu was officially elected the new district’s executive mayor during a special council sitting on Tuesday July 16.
His election to the driver’s seat comes after the ANC had deployed the former executive mayor, Jesta Sidell, to the Provincial Legislature after the May 29 general elections. Cllr Million Shongwe had been acting in this position.
“The EFF welcomes the election of the new mayor, and we hope that he will address the many challenges still faced by our communities in the district. They still lack basic needs such as clean running water and are battling with illegal dumping, especially in our rivers and streams. We hope that he will work to speed up services and constantly monitor all the local municipalities so that there is efficiency,” said the EFF’s Cllr Simon Thobela.
The FF Plus also welcomed Shabangu’s election, stating that they hope he will continue where Sidell had left off with her good work.
“We would like to congratulate him on his election. He has big shoes to fill and as the FF Plus, we will ensure that we always keep him in check and that he fulfils the promises he has made in his speech. But we commit to work with him in improving the lives of all our people,” said the FF Plus’s councillor, Monique Bornman.
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The DA’s councillor, Steve Schormann, said they will support Shabangu in his pursuit to serve the people.
“He has big shoes to fill and we wish him well. We pledge our support for as long as he goes forward for what is right and just for our communities.”
When addressing the media, Shabangu outlined some of his plans that he intends to implement to help speed up service delivery in the district.
“This position doesn’t come with any excitement, it comes with commitment and responsibility, and as you know, we still have serious challenges in our communities that need to be addressed. Our responsibility is to go into our areas and do our best to give our people the services they so need. We need to see to it that our roads are in good condition and that there is a reliable provision of water supply. This is one of the key areas we will work on to ensure that the bulk water schemes are well maintained and running,” he said.
He said they would also revisit some of the unfinished projects to ensure they are completed.
Shabangu also spoke passionately about the issues of crime and gender-based violence, saying there is a huge need to pull resources together to fight these scourges, especially the killing of children and women.
