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Ray Nkonyeni municipality mayor Zodwa Mzindle. Picture: RAY NKONYENI MUNICIPALITY.
Ray Nkonyeni municipality mayor Zodwa Mzindle. Picture: RAY NKONYENI MUNICIPALITY.

The knives are out for embattled Ray Nkonyeni municipality mayor Zodwa Mzindle as the IFP has filed a motion of no confidence against her.

IFP councillor Jerome Ngwane said they wrote to municipal speaker Phumlani Gumbi about the issue.

“We hope our motion would be tabled in the next full council meeting on the last Tuesday of this month,” said Ngwane. He said they wanted Mzindle removed for failing to address the recent workers’ strike on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, which lasted three months.

Ngwane said Mzindle had proven that she was not fit to be a mayor.

The DA in the municipality is also calling for Mzindle’s head. DA councillor Leon Garbade said they planned to submit a motion of no confidence against her by Friday. The DA has accused Mzindle of being responsible for the strike, which led to the complete halt of service delivery to the community.

The workers’ salary strike ended on Monday.

“The mayor is responsible for the workers’ strike, which crippled service delivery to the community for almost three months. She was nowhere to be found in all engagements aimed to resolved the strike. When co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi visited the municipality to address the workers, [Mzindle] was not available — instead she went to a party in Port Shepstone,” said Garbade.

He said they could not allow the municipality to be led by person who did not care about the community.

“How can you go to a party when there is a serious engagement in your municipality? What kind of a leader is that?” asked Garbade.

The DA is concerned about the apparent indifference and failure of local, provincial and national government officials to address the root causes of the strike and engage in meaningful dialogue with the workers, he said.

“This inaction only exacerbates the frustration of the workers and leaves residents to bear the brunt of the service delivery breakdown. It is unacceptable that political leaders have not shown the necessary urgency to intervene and resolve the crisis.”

Nazir Shaik, chair of the ratepayers’ association in the north cluster, which covers suburbs under the Ray Nkonyeni municipality, said they were unhappy about how the mayor and municipal manager Khetha Zulu handled the workers’ strike.

“We felt the mayor and the municipal manager should have handled the strike in a better way — as officials, how can you allow the workers’ strike to drag [on] for more than three months?” he said.

Shaik said the strike had a negative impact on the livelihoods of residents and businesses. “Many businesses in town were affected and we as ratepayers had to collect the refuse at our own expense,” he said.

They want to municipality to reimburse them for the costs they incurred while collecting the refuse, he said.

“Although we are happy that the strike is over, the municipality still has a lot to answer.”

Municipality communications officer Nomusa Zulu, who is also an acting spokesperson for Mzindle, asked to be sent questions via e-mail but did not respond by the time of publication. 

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