New Amahlathi troika ends unrest

The young protesters and community members in Stutterheim have suspended the five-month total shutdown of the Amahlathi Municipality because 90% of their demands have been met.

A leader of the youths who were fighting against corruption, Melikhaya Maweni, said this was announced at a meeting on Monday.

He said, “The decision emanates from the ANC’s intervention to reconfigure the Amahlathi executive committee and remove councillors responsible for the unrest, corruption and maladministration in the municipality.”

He said the demand for a new, non-factional troika had been met and municipal employees should return to work.

“After the former troika mayor Pateka Qaba, speaker Nokuzola Mlahleki and chief whip Xhanti Mngxaso were removed, the PEC produced a list of a newly appointed troika from the same faction. We disapproved as the change we wanted would not materialise.”

Maweni said the new acting troika of mayor Agnes Hobo, speaker Mxolisi Mjikelwa and chief whip Dumisani Mzili, were then appointed from a different faction.

He said Qaba, Mlahleki and Mngxaso were moved to the municipality’s executive committee and were now ordinary council members as the community had requested.

Maweni said Hobo was to appoint a new executive committee.

He said co-operative governance MEC Fikile Xasa had confirmed that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report which uncovered maladministration, fraud and corruption in the municipality, was submitted to municipal manager Ivy Nqena who withheld it for two months.

“We suspect Nqena was also implicated in the SIU report, otherwise she would not have withheld it. As a result, the troika has mentioned plans to remove her from her position.”

Maweni said a case was also opened against former acting municipal manager Mbende Nkosinathi, who was unlawfully appointed.

Other councillors who were removed from key positions as they were not serving the community, include Nolwando Busika who was heading the youth programmes.

Busika was also implicated in the kidnapping of three youths for three days in 2018 after her bouncers grabbed them, beat and tortured them with pepper spray during a protest outside her house. The youth were demanding that she step down.

Busika was facing trial with her husband, Mxolisi, and brother Andile Dyantyi for the incident.

Up to the time of going to print, the municipality’s communications department could not be reached.