Durban - Ubumbano Lokuthula says it will close down Ladysmith in Alfred Duma Local Municipality if the town mayor ,Vincent Madlala, has not resigned by Monday.
In a recent lockdown, water supply and transport services in the town were affected.
Businesses lost millions of rand and schooling was affected, as residents and a taxi association, led by Umbumbano, a civic group, blockaded all entry and exit points to the town with burning tyres and minibus taxis.
The protesters alleged that Madlala uses municipal resources for personal gain, at the expense of service delivery.
The recent lockdown in the town lasted three days.
Ubumbano yesterday told the Daily News that Madlala had been given two options, to resign or be recalled.
“Feedback that we received from community safety and liaison MEC Bheki Ntuli on Wednesday was that Madlala is expected to decide between resigning or being recalled by the ANC. We are ready to bring everything to a standstill, as we have done previously,” said Andile Hlatshwayo, the spokesperson of the protesters.
Senzo Mzila, the KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson, said they would not be in a position to comment on a political level about the Madlala issue.
“We have been working with all the stakeholders to try to find solutions to the problem in Ladysmith. We have deployed a local government expert to the area and the person is working with all the parties concerned,” Mzila said. Ntuli said the government was committed to finding lasting peace and stability in Ladysmith.
He said he had convened a stakeholders’ engagement at the uThukela District Council Chamber on Thursday to update them on the latest developments, which aimed to find lasting peace and stability in the area.
“According to reports from businesses, the protest action and total shutdown of Ladysmith resulted in loss of revenue of over R100million.
“This is a clear indication that we all have to work together and resolve this ongoing impasse and bring life back to normality for the benefit of all,” said Ntuli in a statement.
He said he would continue engaging with all stakeholders with the view of finding a lasting solution, and called on all concerned parties to play their part in working towards ensuring peace and stability in Ladysmith.
“I wish to thank all stakeholders for their cooperation that led to the resumption of water services and transport operations, because we all agree that water is life and people need water to survive. The lack of transport was also a serious challenge, as people were unable to go to work and children could not go to school,” said Ntuli.
In the meeting, Ntuli informed stakeholders that additional police would be deployed in the area to combat violence.
“We have increased the number of specialised police units in the area to ensure that our people are safe all the time. Our primary goal, as the provincial government, is to end violence and ensure lasting peace and stability in Ladysmith,” he said.