Former Umdoni Municipality speaker, Clr Mbali Cele-Luthuli (ANC) was elected as the new mayor at an inauguration ceremony at the Umzinto town hall last week.
The elections saw 35 council members present, members of the IEC, the public and media, including former Umdoni mayors.
Cele-Luthuli joined the current term of council as the speaker in 2021. She was contested by Clr Gloria Dlamini from the IFP.
She received 22 votes while Dlamini received five. Eight ballots were spoilt.
The position of deputy mayor was held by Clr Mthandeni Mbutho (ANC), who had filled in as acting mayor of Umdoni for a period of time after the former mayor, Sibongile Khathi resigned.
At the inauguration, Mbutho was nominated for the role of the new speaker along with Clr Mvunyelwa Tenza (IFP).
After a lengthy voting process, Mbutho received 23 votes and was elected as the new speaker, while Tenza received eight votes. There were four spoiled ballots.
With regards to the new deputy mayor, the ANC’s Clr Phila Thabethe was nominated, and due to his nomination being uncontested, he seized the role of deputy.
The new mayor, Cele-Luthuli, stated that she feels honoured to be taking up her role at Umdoni.
She also thanked Mbutho for serving as acting mayor before the inauguration.
Last week, the municipality also received an unqualified audit opinion for the 2022/2023 financial year.
“Umdoni received the unqualified audit opinion with minimal matters of emphasis compared to the previous year,” explained the new mayor.
“Council, management and staff will amplify their efforts towards obtaining a clean audit in the near future.”
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