KwaDukuza ratepayers want Cogta to step in as election of new mayor stalls
Ratepayers in KwaDukuza have asked KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Cooperative Governance to intervene as the municipality’s top two office-bearer seats remain unfilled.
In early July, the ANC announced it had removed Mayor Ali Ngidi and the Deputy Mayor Sicelinjabulo Cele, accusing them of misconduct and financial mismanagement.
A recent planned council sitting to elect their replacements didn't go ahead.
Brian Pottinger, a member of the Dolphin Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association, says they have written to KZN Cogta because it's not the first time it has happened.
ALSO READ: Axing of KwaDukuza mayor applauded by opposition
" It happened in November last year. There was an internal wrangle and it left us without effective political leadership in the council.
"We are at a point now where the council is running into statutory problems. It's running into contraventions of statutory law in terms of what it's supposed to be doing in terms of delivering reports and having meetings."
Pottinger says the latest update from the municipality is that an announcement on the mayor and deputy mayor roles is expected within the next few days.
NOW READ: KwaDukuza ratepayers hope new mayor ‘will last longer’
However, he says they have also heard this promise a few times before.
The African National Congress in KZN says interviews for replacements have been conducted and finalised the office of the secretary-general.
The party says it's now ironing out logistical issues.
Find us on social media
Follow the ECR Newswatch WhatsApp channel here
MORE ON ECR:
