Will the city mayor please stand up?

When uMhlathuze Mayor Mduduzi Mhlongo came into office, I was impressed by his charisma, forward-thinking attitude and no-nonsense approach, as well as the proactive measures he spearheaded to promote the region as an investment destination.

But as his public support dwindled and the reality of service delivery problems became evident a few years down the line, he has literally been flying ‘under the radar’.

When service delivery issues became volatile in eSikhaleni last year, the esteemed mayor was literally booed off the stage.

I don’t know if this was the turning point, but from then on out he has been ‘missing in action’. When the city needed him the most, he was silent.

It began with the assassination of the RBM General Manager in May, a week after the mayor hosted a business stakeholder session which was attended by the late Nico Swart. When the captain of industry was ruthlessly murdered, we heard nothing from the mayor.

During the looting – undoubtedly the lowest point of this year when Empangeni residents awoke to total pandemonium, the mayor was mum.

When stores were being looted and the army was nowhere in sight, the mayor made no statement to encourage his citizens and the business fraternity.

Empangeni needed a mayoral site visit, but it was more important to escort Minister Bheki Cele to look at a mall in Richards Bay unscathed by the looting.

As if Covid was not enough, we have now been plagued with a series of power and water interruptions that is crippling businesses in the area and severely impacting residents.

The last straw has been the huge knock big industry has taken owing to the persistent power problems and the latest fire incidents at the Port of Richards Bay.

With sabotage being probed and the situation at hand having global repercussions in terms of import and export markets, it is mind-boggling that our mayor remains quiet.

He did not condemn the incidents, neither has he come to the fore as a true leader.

What is going on? Or has he really been silenced by his own party?

Apart from a few house handovers and launch ceremonies, he has been missing when we needed him the most.