Politics has become complicated at Umzumbe Local Municipality, with two mayors, and an expelled former speaker calling special council meetings.
According to sources, the IFP wants to take over the municipality, at whatever cost.
The former speaker, Sbonelo Maphumulo, called a special council meeting recently, where a quorum of 21 councillors met.
The mayor, Bongani Nyuswa, deputy mayor Mhlengi Luthuli and acting municipal manager Nandi Dlamini were absent.
Although Nyuswa and Dlamini were in the municipal offices, they did not attend the meeting.
It is believed that Maphumulo asked some councillors to ask Dlamini to join in, but she refused.
As the quorum had met, the meeting went ahead, and an IFP councillor Simphiwe ‘Jika’ Mthethwa raised a motion of no confidence in Nyuswa.
Mthethwa alleged that Nyuswa was incompetent and that he could not bring about change in people’s lives.
“Before he was elected mayor, he was the director of corporate services. He and the then municipal manager, Nokuthula Mgijima, abused their positions of power and paid themselves more than the prescribed upper limits of remuneration.”
Mthethwa further alleged that Nyuswa allowed a driver who was not on the municipal payroll, to drive a municipal vehicle.
The council then decided to remove Nyuswa as the mayor and replaced him with IFP councillor Mlungisi Ndlovu as the ‘new mayor’.
During the election of the ‘mayor’, the IEC was not present, neither was a magistrate, nor was Ndlovu sworn in.
The ANC later released a statement that it was vindicated by an interim court order, which declared Ndlovu a ‘fake mayor’, to stop him from masquerading as mayor of Umzumbe.
A second special council meeting was called by the office of Maphumulo, to elect an acting municipal manager, chief financial officer, acting director of technical services and acting director of social and community services.
This meeting was set to take place last Wednesday morning, however it did not occur.
It is believed that on Wednesday, Maphumulo escalated his matter of being expelled to the national ANC, as he was unable to resume his duties as the speaker of Umzumbe.
On the same morning, members of the IFP shut down the municipality and said they will do so until Maphumulo returned with a ruling about his expulsion.
Mthethwa, also an IFP caucus leader said they did not want officials including Nyuswa and Dlamini to go inside the municipal offices and make decisions.
“We don’t want them to go inside because they will continue to make unlawful and bad decisions. We will close up for two days until we hear what the court says because we still regard Maphumulo as the speaker.”
With all the chaos on Wednesday morning, a media briefing was called by Nyuswa in Scottburgh.
Nyuswa declared that he is still the official mayor of Umzumbe and that no one is allowed to call a council meeting besides the municipal manager (Dlamini).
Nyuswa said that the ANC had expelled Maphumulo, he is therefore no longer the speaker of Umzumbe and cannot call meetings.
“The ANC is in charge of Umzumbe, no political party will take over Umzumbe unlawfully. No one will work forcefully when they have been expelled.”
Nyuswa said that the KZN ANC informed Dlamini of the expulsion of the speaker, and also the IEC to declare a vacancy in Ward 11, of which Maphumulo was councillor.
Maphumulo said he has appealed his expulsion and is still waiting for a response.
“I have been expelled from the ANC but I am still a government official. Everything that now concerns the municipality is in court.”
In its statement the ANC declared that the court order essentially means that Nyuswa remains the only authentic mayor of Umzumbe, and therefore anyone calling himself the mayor of Umzumbe will face the full might of the law.
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