Disgraced EThekwini Mayor Gumede must fall

15 May 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal calls for the removal of EThekwini Mayor, Zandile Gumede amid her involvement in a bogus R208 million tender. The call follows the statement by the DA EThekwini Caucus leader welcoming the mayor’s arrest. 

The DA has since written to MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Numusa Dube kaNcube for EThekwini Municipality to be placed under Section 139(1) b Administration to negate the possibility of the investigation by HAWKS being compromised.

EThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede yesterday appeared before the Durban Commercial Crimes Courts to answer to charges of fraud and fraud omission, corruption, contraventions of Sections 118, 193(4); 173(5)(a)(f) and 174 Penalty clause of the Municipal Finance Act, 2003 among others.

EThekwini under Gumede’s leadership has seen the municipality plummet into turmoil and a spike in service delivery protests motivated by her careless and selfish decisions. The leadership of Zandile Gumede saw an increase in corrupt dealings and the rewarding of her cronies who delivered her into power. Today residents of the city are plagued with inconsistencies in service delivery while tariffs rise.

The call for her to be removed as mayor comes amid her bail conditions, which impede in many ways with her daily functions as mayor; thus compromising service delivery. The DA has for many years called for an investigation into Zandile Gumede and her administration whose decisions have done nothing but bring our city to its knees.

While some may consider her arrest as a political ploy to tarnish her image and render her obsolete in the political arena, the DA sees rather a justice system dealing with a suspect who should be trialed and if found guilty, jailed like any other and feel the full might of the law.

Issued by Zwakele Mncwango, DA KZN Provincial Leader, 15 May 2019