Victory for ActionSA as eThekwini Metro Removes Murder-Accused Ward 101 Councillor from Office
31 May 2023
ActionSA welcomes the eThekwini Metro Municipality’s decision to approve the recommendation made by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) to remove Mzimuni Ngiba as ward councillor for ward 101, after receiving his remuneration to the value of R541 681 from the Municipality, despite being behind bars for 12 months on the charges of murder.
ActionSA further welcomes this development as a victory after we had publicly demonstrated our condemnation of the Speaker of eThekwini Municipality’s failure to recognise the councillor’s absence from Council for more than 3 consecutive council meetings.
Violating of the Code of Conduct for Councillors under section 4.2, which states that:
“A councillor who is absent from three or more consecutive meetings of a municipal council, must be removed from office as a councillor”.
We, therefore, called on the Speaker to act immediately against the above contravention, to which he vowed to have Ngiba removed as a councillor and from the Municipality’s payroll by the end of May, and we welcome him giving effect to his commitment.
However, we have been left in the dark about the development/(s) of ward 54 councillor in eThekwini, who was also arrested on the charges of murder but was granted bail.
It is our understanding that he is on the ANC’s ‘step aside’ rule, but just like Ngiba, he too has been receiving his remuneration despite not doing community work as expected by all councillors. We need to know his status, and whether he has been removed from the Municipaliy’s payroll or not.
It has become evident that ActionSA is the only party that will fight for the people of eThekwini against leaders who continuously fail them.
While we welcome Ngiba’s removal as ward 101 councillor, we cautiously but optimistically await the IEC’s announcement for by-elections in this ward, as members of this community have been without a ward councillor for over a year.
Nevertheless, we demand that the Speaker take the public into his confidence and provide an explanation for the status of the ward 54 councillor.
Issued by Zwakele Mncwango, ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal Chairperson, 31 May 2023
