THE fate of embattled mayor, Zandile Gumede remains uncertain as the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) has requested an extension in the ongoing meetings on the matter. The mayor’s leave is expected to extend for up to seven days and the PEC is said to make another announcement on Monday next week.
The party’s KwaZulu-Natal secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli made the announcement today at a media briefing at the ANC offices in Durban.
“Whether we decide what to do today or in five days time is neither here nor there in terms of the outcome,” said Ntuli.
“These are not easy matters. When there is a grey area we must be certain. That is what motivated the PEC not to be conclusive on the matter. One of the things linked to that motivation was that while we are discussing cases of comrades who are in conflict with the law, we are equally discussing the state of the municipality they lead,” he said.
A new report added to the decision to wait.
“There was no disagreement about the direction we are taking. The only reason we could not finalise everything yesterday is that in the provincial working committee received a report,” said Ntuli.
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While the mayor’s leave continues, Ntuli said that the law would be applied and the leave would be unpaid.
“We took a political decision that (the mayor) could not go to work under these circumstances, she had to take a leave of absence. If the law permits only a month for a leave of absence and anything after that is unpaid, then so be it. The intention primarily is that we are not seen to be serving people under the conditions where there are difficulties we are confronting. We are really not worried whether the mayor gets paid a month later or doesn’t get paid. In any event, a public representative is compensated for doing the work of a public representative. It’s not a salary, its an instrument to continue doing your work. When you are on leave and the law says you shouldn’t be paid for leave that is beyond a month, the law will have to be applied,” he said.
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