Political dissension in Zululand District turns deadly

Councillors at AbaQulusi and Zululand admit that the recent hit taken on Cllr Sakhayedwa Siyaya (IFP) is undoubtedly politically motivated, Vryheid Herald reports.

It is alleged Cllr Siyaya had been travelling back to Vryheid from Ulundi when two vehicles attempted to run him off the road. He confirmed that the occupants of the vehicle opened fire when he refused to stop. While he was lucky to have escaped without serious injury, there was extensive damage to his vehicle and his sunroof had collapsed on top of him.

This incident follows considerable tension that has been boiling over between Zululand District mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi (IFP) and municipal manager (MM) Sipho Nkosi.

Last month, Cllr Buthelezi facilitated a council resolution that gave the MM seven days to tell the council why he shouldn’t be suspended. The resolution was passed in order to have the MM investigated for irregular expenditure.

However, reliable sources believe that the resolution has no basis and has come about due to an instruction from high up in the IFP structures for the mayor to find a reason to have the MM removed, so that he may be replaced with a more ‘pliable’ candidate.

After the resolution was taken, the MM went on sick leave and, during this time, he consulted with an attorney about the steps that had been taken against him.

While the MM was on leave and occupied with legal consultations, the processing of staff salaries had been neglected, and staff was not paid on Friday, February 23, as expected.

This led to a protest the following Monday morning, with rubber bullets being used by police to disperse strikers under the threat of imminent violence. Some staff members had to be hospitalised due to injuries they sustained during the incident.

All staff members were paid that afternoon, but they are now demanding R2 500 each as compensation for the inconvenience and to recover the costs of debit orders that bounced on the 25th.

DA representative on the Zululand council Sbu Nkosi says the strain that the squabbling between the mayor and the MM is putting on Zululand municipality, has caused the DA to reconsider its working relationship with the IFP.

“We cannot support an attempt to get rid of the MM if it is not based on the competency of the guy. People can’t be hired on the basis that they have their careers paved due to a political mandate. This goes against the DA principles of fighting fraud, corruption and maladministration. Obviously, we will not support the MM if there are serious allegations against him, but this has now turned into a witch hunt. If the IFP consistently continues to behave like this, we will find ourselves in the difficult position of supporting any motion that will seek to remove the mayor,” said Cllr Nkosi.

“The staff members that were injured when the rubber bullets were fired have been discharged and they are back at work. While the situation is now calm, staff members feel demotivated by the political games afoot. Staff morale is down and this will affect service delivery to the people.”

Numerous attempts to reach Cllr Buthelezi and Mr Nkosi telephonically proved fruitless.

The Citizen will shortly confirm the date of the attack with the relevant people. 

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