Mayor Naik, if you please
It's been a week since Melvin Naik lost his DA membership, but the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is yet to be informed of the decision.
This means that officially, Naik is still mayor of George.
The provincial IEC office has confirmed that they haven't received any notification from the George Municipal Manager (MM) in this regard. Naik did not take his suspension lying down and has taken legal action against the party's process to oust him as mayor. Since then, the MM, Trevor Botha, has been suspended, so it is now up to the Acting MM, in all likelihood, Siphiwo James, to inform the IEC that the top job is open. Only then can a vacancy be declared and an acting mayor appointed.
Last week the DA gave Naik the option to resign as mayor and stay on as councillor pending his disciplinary hearing, but he refused. Naik told George Herald last Thursday that he had approached the High Court in Cape Town to obtain an interdict against the DA to reverse the party's "illegal termination" of his membership. Naik said the process was unconstitutional as he was never granted a disciplinary hearing. "I see myself as mayor of George. I will not leave under a cloud and will not allow the DA to bully me." George Herald was unable to establish contact with Naik this week. He is currently on leave.
In a lawyer's letter to the DA's Federal Executive Committee chairperson, Helen Zille, sent on Wednesday 12 February, he threatens legal action against the DA.
Naik said seeing that the party ignored all his written requests, he was forced to apply for the interdict. DA George Constituency Head, Geordin Hill-Lewis, said they expected Naik to follow the legal route.
"This will not change anything. Our lawyers will defend any legal action from his side." By yesterday afternoon Hill-Lewis had not received any official notification regarding the interdict application.
Icosa's Dawid Camfer accused the DA of a witch hunt, saying they are targeting coloured leaders, hoping to prove that they [the leaders] are corrupt and not capable to lead.