DA head to court over uMngeni council sitting disruption
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal will ask the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday to order the uMngeni acting municipal manager to convene a lawful council sitting.
What was meant to have been the inaugural council meeting last week didn't go ahead, apparently after suspended municipal manager Thembeka Cibane tried to preside over it.
DA members staged a walk-out.
As a result, the council has yet to elect the mayor, deputy mayor and speaker.
Mayor-elect Chris Pappas says they wrote to acting municipal manager Sandile Buthelezi demanding that he carry out his duties, but Buthelezi responded, citing reasons why he cannot preside over the meeting.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, DA KZN chairperson Dean Macpherson says the DA's constitutional right has been undermined by Buthelezi.
"We seek costs against them on any attorney, client scale from the first respondents, which is Mr Buthelezi.
"Our hope is that the court will rule on this urgently, hopefully by the end of Thursday or Friday morning, so then we can have that meeting constituted and we can go forward."
DA KZN Leader Francois Rodgers hopes the court will rule in the party's favour.
"It's a sad day for our constitutional democracy when a political organisation like the ANC plays political games and tries to stop the DA from governing in uMngeni."
ALSO READ:
