No councillor in eThekwini ward as Ngiba sits in prison on full pay

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal says it will not act above the law and expel a Durban councillor awaiting trial for the murder of a former ANC ward candidate shortly before the 2021 local government elections.

ANC ward 101 (Manor Gardens and Mayville) councillor Mzimuni Ngiba has been in jail for the past nine months, accused of killing his predecessor, Siyabonga Mkhize. The ANC said it will only expel him if he is found guilty.

This is after the DA in KZN called on the provincial Department of Co-operative Governance (Cogta), along with eThekwini City manager Musa Mbhele, to act in the best interests of Ward 101 residents and call a by-election.

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The DA raised the matter in Parliament recently and questioned whether Ngiba was still getting paid, and Cogta said that after consulting with the municipality it was confirmed that he was still receiving a salary. DA KZN spokesperson on Cogta Martin Meyer said this councillor had not attended any council meetings or committee meetings during the past nine months.

He has also not attended to the many issues facing his ward. This places him in breach of the councillors’ code of conduct
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Meyers said that Schedule 7 of the Municipal Structures Act also outlines the actions to be taken by the City manager when there is a serious breach of the code. “According to the act, the matter should also have been investigated and brought to full council in eThekwini for discussion.

“It should also have been reported to KZN’s Cogta MEC, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi. Again, none of this has happened. While the DA fully subscribes to the concept of innocence until proven guilty, the government must act in the best interests of the people.”

According to Meyer, the ward had been without an elected representative for months on end. Instead, it has been left to DA PR councillor Sibo Sibisi to fill the gap and try to ensure that services are provided. KZN Cogta said it was not aware that Ngiba was not attending council meetings as the municipality had not reported it.

“The concern is acknowledged and the eThekwini Municipality through the office of the speaker will be advised to urgently address this matter in line with his oversight role on public participation matters as the custodian of the code of conduct of councillors,” said KZN MEC Sithole-Moloi.

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The DA said it welcomed a commitment by Cogta to investigate this matter. ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said there are only four reasons that could lead to a by-election — when a councillor resigns, or dies, or is expelled, or found guilty of a crime and has been sentenced to 12 or more months of imprisonment. According to Mtolo, Ward 101 doesn’t meet any of those requirements.

He is awaiting trial and is on ‘step aside’. If he is found guilty for the crime, only then will we expel him and the by-election process will start
The eThekwini Municipality had not responded at the time of publication.