THE ANC Youth League in the Musa Dladla Region has called on its party to ‘fast track the release’ of uMhlathuze City Mayor Elphas Mbatha, accusing him of being ‘old and sterile and incapable of driving the municipality’.
The comments are in response to an article published in the Zululand Observer last month, where Mbatha openly rebuked officials for severe under spending on the capital budget and their inability to provide reasoning for the crisis.
With tender manipulation pinpointed as the root ‘evil’ cause, a disgruntled Mayor at the time said he was tired of being ‘ignored’.
Lashing back this week, local ANCYL Regional Secretary, Philani Mthethwa said with Mbatha being the Chairperson of the Finance Portfolio and the ‘captain of the ship’, he was accountable and ‘could not escape the blame for the poor spending patterns’.
‘Just when the ship enters trouble waters, Mbatha, unlike the brave and courageous captain of the Titanic, jumps ship,’ said Mthethwa.
‘He fails to rally his team around, does not give direction, but instead, panics first and abandons the ship. Then from a safety boat, he starts pointing fingers at the crew for not having seen the iceberg early enough,’ said Mthethwa.
He said the party was convinced ‘the stunt pulled by the Mayor was anti-ANC’.
‘By making such reckless and irresponsible comments, all that is left is for the Mayor to formalise his exit. Young people of the ANC are quite disappointed that despite the wealth of experience cadre Mbatha has gained, he still demonstrates such ineptitude when it comes to leadership and what it means to take responsibility,’ Mthethwa said.
Responding to his colleagues, the Mayor was unwavering adding that his budget report painted a bleak picture of service provision.
‘Municipal officials have had an opportunity to address bottlenecks and we have asked them to dedicate themselves to delivering services irrespective of political party affiliation,’ Mbatha told the Zululand Observer.
‘Communities have demonstrated their impatience with poor performance and I urge my colleagues to join me in ensuring that wastage and fruitless expenditure is curtailed for the benefit of all communities.’
The Mayor said evidence pointed to a total disregard for the Municipal Finance Management Act Regulations, which was ‘tantamount to maladministration and corruption’.
‘The causes of poor spending were identified as early as 2012 and the employees of this municipality know what needs to be done. Flouting of procedures should not be tolerated no matter who is involved. My colleagues need to see the bigger picture. Employees who sleep on duty are betraying the pursuit of a better life for all,’ said Mbatha.
