Stop the wasteful power shenanigans
1orthern KZN has had the worst track record by far when it comes to retaining municipal leadership of repute. From the beleaguered Mtubatuba Municipality and its historical administrative woes to the jostling for power at Mthonjaneni Municipality and the controversial mayoral axing at uMkhanyakude Municipality - we are spoilt for choice when it comes to political shenanigans. Apportioning blame to a specific political party is pointless as the end result remains the same – the mass electorate suffers the brunt of poor decision making at the helm.
uMkhanyakude District Municipality, for instance, finds itself in unchartered waters, as it currently has two mayors employed at the expense of taxpayers. Latest legal opinion reveals that the decision to remove their previous mayor through a vote of no confidence last month was ‘appropriate and lawful’. Taxpayers will now have to foot the bill again for the latest legal revelations.
Rewind a month back and the controversial mayor was removed from his position in the first place, for failing to hold ordinary council meetings since March last year owing to a power squabble. Once again, service delivery came to a standstill to further selfish political agendas.
The problem with local government leadership in these embattled municipalities is that the needs of people are placed at the bottom of the priority table. Political candidates, who obtain power during the local government elections, seem to forget their core mandate and function during their tenure.
Power struggles among opposition parties have now taken a backseat to infighting within ruling parties themselves. In the run-up to this year’s local government elections, are we going to see the same problematic pattern play out?
The poor calibre of stable leadership is a pressing concern and choices for leaders of integrity and stature are limited. As with any institution, be it a school or major conglomerate, good governance and leadership is pivotal to ensure good outcomes, better service delivery and increased profits. Voters must not accept the daylight ‘robbery by default’ of public funds. We must hold accountable the leaders we voted into power.