DESPITE being affected by the ANC step-aside rule, an ANC councillor was elected as a candidate for the upcoming local government elections, much to the ire of members of the ANC Moses Mabhida region in Pietermaritzburg.
These members have accused ANC provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli and regional co-ordinator Mandla Zondi of being factional by allowing councillor Sphamandla Madlala to be elected as a councillor candidate.
ON Sunday, Madlala was nominated to return as a councillor despite facing corruption charges.
In a letter, penned by six aggrieved party members from ward 29 in the Msunduzi municipality which Daily News has seen, they accused Ntuli and Zondi of not acting against Madlala despite numerous letters to them.
“Dear comrade Mdumiseni (Ntuli), I write this email to inform you that we are very disappointed in you and Mandla (Zondi) for your failure to address any of the complaints we raised with your offices.
“We have written numerous letters regarding numerous irregularities, fraudulent, wrong and dubious activities of our branch but you have made no effort to address any of them,” says the letter.
An ANC ward 29 member, who did not want to be named, told the Daily News that Madlala was openly defying the step-aside rule because he was being protected by Ntuli and Zondi.
He said they were surprised the ANC allowed Madlala to participate in the branch meeting on May 9 where he was re-elected as branch secretary.
He was supposed to have stepped aside because of his corruption charges.
The source said Madlala was also continuing as a councillor with the party taking no action.
He accused Ntuli of protecting Madlala for his own interest.
“We are very disappointed, comrade.
“Let history, and this Provincial Executive Committee, record that during your term as provincial secretary all our concerns were ignored despite numerous letters of complaints.”
Neither Ntuli nor Madlala had commented at the time of publication.
ANC provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said it was Zondi who was supposed to explain what was happening with Madlala because he was the region co-ordinator, but Zondi said it was the provincial leadership who must explain because the step-aside issue was with the provincial secretary’s office.
The Daily News recently reported that all the eThekwini municipality councillors whom the ANC announced had stepped aside, were still in their positions.
Daily News