Umuziwabantu Municipality terminated the contract of acting municipal manager West Gumede during a special council meeting recently.
Umuziwabantu mayor, Siboniso Zungu said the decision to part ways with Gumede came after careful deliberation and was in the best interests of the community.
He said the decision was not taken lightly but deemed necessary to restore stability and ensure uninterrupted service delivery within the municipality.
Gumede was replaced by Advocate Reshwant Brijraj.
“Brijraj will remain in the position of acting municipal manager until the municipality concludes the recruitment process that is already underway. We have full confidence in Advocate Brijraj’s ability to provide strong leadership and guidance during this transitional period,” said Zungu.
He added that the special council meeting was held to address recent events which led to the closure of municipal offices and disruption to operations.
The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal had been calling on the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi to urgently intervene in Umuziwabantu Municipality after members of the ‘Business Forum’ in Harding allegedly locked staff out of the buildings and shut down the municipality.
They were demanding 30% of the perceived profits or 30% of awarded contracts or lucrative contracts. They were also demanding that Gumede resigns from the municipality.
DA Ugu Constituency head, Edwin Baptie said the conduct of shutting down municipal offices is commonplace in KZN as mafia-styled groups engage in acts of extortion with evident impunity.
“The recent warnings by Judge Raymond Zondo of the threat of another episode of state capture were directed at the presidency and parliament. The reality here in KZN is that it never ended. The brazen demands for payments in exchange for ‘allowing projects to proceed without interference’ have been ongoing for many years without any signs of abating. The response from ANC leadership and senior officials has always been to accommodate them in one way or another. There is an ominous unwillingness to lay charges of assault, extortion, intent to extort, intimidation, or any other relevant categories of criminal conduct that apply. The other disturbing feature of this regular practise is the unwillingness of the police to involve themselves and provide a swift response,” said Baptie.
Meanwhile, Umuziwabantu mayor (Zungu) said they regret any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of municipal offices and disruption to service delivery due to the recent protest.
“We understand the impact this may have had on our residents, and all stakeholders, hence we sincerely apologise for any disruption caused. We acknowledge the importance of uninterrupted service delivery and are committed to working tirelessly to prevent the recurrence of the events that unfolded in the past week. Municipal operations will resume without delay. As of Tuesday, July 11, the municipality was fully operational, and our dedicated staff will continue to work diligently and with speed to ensure that the provision of services to our residents is restored swiftly and effectively,” said Zungu.
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