Umngeni mayor set to be finally sworn in today
THE DA mayor in umngeni municipality is expected to be sworn in today after the Pietermaritzburg High Court ordered acting manager Sandile Buthelezi to call a meeting for this purpose.
The court ruled on Friday that Buthelezi was still acting municipal manager and directed him to call a council meeting to swear in the new municipality leadership. Speaker-elect Janis Holmes told the
Daily News yesterday that it was all systems go for the inaugural council meeting, adding that Buthelezi complied with the court order and issued invitation letters to all councillors on Friday. The meeting will take place at the Howick West hall today.
The court also ruled that suspended municipal manager Thembeka Cibane should not attend the meeting or enter the municipality offices. ANC regional task team co-ordinator Mandla Zondi confirmed that his party was ready for the council meeting.
The ANC had appointed former speaker Thulani Mthalane and Zine Dlamini to sit on the municipality’s executive committee despite calls by branches to remove the two, whom they accused of costing the party the municipality.
Branches met last week and resolved that the two councillors must voluntarily vacate their seats or the party should remove them.
Mthalane would also be the chief whip of the party. Former mayor Richard Sokhela would be an ordinary councillor.
The DA had nominated former legislature member Chris Pappas as mayor and 26-year-old Sandile Mnikathi as deputy mayor. Former party caucus leader Holmes was nominated as speaker.
In the 25-seat council, the DA has 13 seats followed by the ANC with 10 and the EFF with two. The council was supposed to have previously elected the new leadership but the meeting was called off after DA and EFF councillors walked out last week Friday.
This was after suspended manager Cibane demanded to preside over the meeting and had refused to leave after DA mayor-elect Pappas objected to her presence.
There was a further delay after Buthelezi refused to call a meeting last Monday and wrote to the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka requesting that an official be assigned to preside over a meeting.
Buthelezi had said he could not call a meeting because he was appointed to the acting position by the previous council. This prompted the DA to file urgent court papers last Wednesday and the matter was heard on Thursday where court ruled in favour of the DA.
The party said senior leaders, including provincial leader Francoisrodgers, were expected to attend the meeting today.