Zandile Gumede's leave officially extended

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal made the announcement a short while ago.

The party's provincial leadership has been briefing the media on the outcomes of its two-day Provincial Executive Committee meeting.

The party placed Gumede on special leave in May.

This after she was arrested on charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering in connection with an alleged dodgy R208-million waste removal tender, dating back to 2016.

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Gumede appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court and was released on R50,000 bail.

She is due back in court on Thursday.

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Provincial secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli confirmed the extension of Gumede's leave of absence at the party's provincial headquarters in Durban.

"The extension for the leave of absence has been granted by the PEC to give us time to go back to the meeting and finalise all issues pertaining to the municipalities. It is merely an extension of about seven days or so," said Ntuli.

"It is not an extension that should be undermining the work of service delivery in eThekwini -- we have an acting mayor who has full authority to run the City."

Deputy Mayor, Fawzia Peer has been acting mayor since Gumede was placed on special leave.

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