Five ANC councillors in the Impendle local municipality abstained during a vote of no confidence against mayor Buyisani Mlaba. (GCIS)
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal will take disciplinary measures against party councillors in the Impendle local municipality who abstained during a no-confidence vote against its mayor, leading to his ousting, coordinator of the provincial task team Mike Mabuyakhulu said.
Their failure to support mayor Buyisani Mlaba resulted in the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) pushing through the motion to boot him out. Until July, the ANC held a slim majority in the rural council anchored under the uMgungundlovu district municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
“A two-person task team investigated the removal of the ANC mayor via a vote of no confidence enabled by ANC councillors abstaining. The ANC recognises the instability caused by this void in leadership and is urgently finalising the process to deploy a new mayor,” Mabuyakhulu told the Mail & Guardian.
“The ANC will be instituting disciplinary action against the councillors whose abstention in the vote of no confidence resulted in this situation.”
Five of the six ANC councillors in the troubled municipality boycotted the voting session, leaving Mlaba alone to oppose his ousting. The IFP and EFF have two seats apiece out of the 10 councillor seats.
The council has been plagued by maladministration and corruption allegations, with opposition councillors accusing Mlaba of “sleeping on duty”. The municipality also made the headlines after it ran out of money, leaving it unable to pay workers’ salaries and to deliver essential services.
The ANC top brass in KwaZulu-Natal has indicated that it is identifying suitable candidates for the now-vacant mayoral seat, but party officials in the municipality want to be in charge of the process.
“There is no province which will dictate to us. The community will choose for themselves who they want to be mayor. We will not allow a mayor who is shoved down our throats,” community leader Thokozani Mhlophe said.
Last week the provincial task team issued a stern warning to those holding unsanctioned parallel meetings over the matter. But Mhlophe and other ANC branch members have vowed to carry on, and have already held several meetings to solicit views on who becomes the new mayor.