DA plans to resubmit motion to dissolve eThekwini Municipality after defeat

The Democratic Alliance (DA)’s endeavour to disband the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) council has proved unsuccessful.

In a council session held at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC) on Wednesday, the DA faced defeat, with 53 votes against their motion.

The DA previously cited the collapse of service delivery such as water, electricity and sanitation services as some of the reasons the party wanted eThekwini council dissolved in its motion.

‘Fight not over’

Reacting to the outcome, DA eThekwini caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa said it was “sad” and “unfortunate” that the motion was not passed by the council.

Mthethwa blamed the unsuccessful motion on small parties voting with the African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

He said the motion was intended to “rescue the people of this city from this chronic collapse of service delivery”.

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“What we can assure, as the DA caucus in eThekwini, that we are not going to give up. We will keep fighting and be an effective opposition as we have always tried.

“We are going to [do] everything legally to resubmit this motion if need when the time allows us to do so,” Mthethwa said.

The DA eThekwini caucus leader further reiterated that “the fight was not over”.

‘DA has veered off course’

Meanwhile, ActionSA, even though it supported the DA’s move, criticised the party for not having a “clear plan” in pushing for the dissolution of the eThekwini Municipality.

“In the absence of such a plan, the motion as it stands is merely an attempt to put a band-aid on a bullet wound,” ActionSA KZN chairperson Zwakele Mncwango said in a statement.

Mncwango was also critical of the DA’s alleged failure to engage with all political parties, including the EFF.

This “undermined the potential success of the motion”, according to the ActionSA provincial leader.

“Given that the EFF holds significant influence in the municipality as the second-largest party, their support would have likely led to the desired outcome of the motion.

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“However, without a clear plan beyond tabling the motion, coupled with their failure to engage with their fellow council members, the DA instead chose to picket outside the Durban International Convention Centre with the aim of scoring publicity points, rather than engaging with council members who are expected to support and vote for the motion.

“The reality is that the DA never intended for their motion to succeed, hence they chose not to engage with other political parties to support the dissolution of eThekwini,” he said.

Mncwango added: “It would seem that the DA has veered off course and lost their direction.”

IFP motion

Earlier this month, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)’s motion to remove eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda failed after 109 councillors voted against it.

At least 89 councillors supported the removal.

The metro is led by the ANC with the assistance of some minority parties.

While the EFF serves on Kaunda’s mayoral committee, the Red Berets have also slammed his alleged failures and also want him replaced.

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