KZN COGTA MEC must pay own legal costs in R1 million alleged defamation suit against DA

12 March 2019

The Democratic Alliance last week tabled a Motion (view here) in the KZN Legislature calling on COGTA MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube to assure the people of the province that she will not be allowed to use public money to fund private court battles.

The call comes after the DA received legal notice on 6 March (view here and here) that the MEC would pursue a R1 million defamation law suit against DA KZN Provincial Leader, Zwakele Mncwango, on the grounds of alleged defamation of character. The issues relates to her and her husband’s multi-million rand business interests within KZN municipalities.

The MEC has every right to proceed with this matter if she so wishes. However, the DA regards this litigation exercise as purely in the MEC’s own personal interests and not in the public interest. She must therefore use her own privately accumulated wealth – and not that of the people of KZN - for this lawsuit. Nor should she be permitted to use funds from within her Department while KZN’s municipalities are collapsing all around her.

While the ANC continues to loot and steal from the public coffers, corruption only grows, leaving the poor behind. The DA in KZN will not stand by while this scourge arises in every sphere, at every level of government. We remain committed to exposing any possible corruption in our province in the interests of the people who deserve so much more.

Issued by Hlanganani Gumbi, DA Deputy Chief Whip in the KZN Legislature, 12 March 2019