DURBAN - THE IFP in uMkhanyakude Municipality hoped the visit by the provincial legislature would unlock problems and pave the way for the approval of the council’s budget.
The multi-party delegation would spend two days in the troubled district assessing the functionality of the municipality from Friday to Saturday. Legislature spokesperson Nomusa Phungula told the Daily News on Tuesday that their annual programme, called “Taking Legislature to the People”, would sit in uMkhanyakude assessing its functionality by interacting with the people and visiting projects already under way.
She said legislature members would answer locals’ questions and listen to explanations from the municipality leadership on the progress of those projects.
IFP leader in the municipality Makhosonke Sithole said his party hoped the visit would unlock the problems that had paralysed the municipality for months.
He said the legislature should first tackle what had caused six council meetings to collapse.
Sithole said although his party had written last week to Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka, informing him that the IFP would no longer be attending council meetings, they were prepared to attend.
“My party would attend the next council meeting only if the agenda was about the budget because if this can’t be resolved, their visit would be a futile exercise,” said Sithole.
Further, he said the IFP had told the Cogta portfolio committee during its visit two weeks ago, that all items should be removed from the agenda to pass the budget. “This was agreed to, but when the meeting was scheduled, the ANC brought back a motion against the mayor, Tim Moodley, which forced the IFP not to attend.”
ANC councillor Thokozani Ngema urged the IFP to attend Thursday’s meeting because it would only have the budget as an item.
The IFP said it wanted the municipality to discuss a forensic report, which would implicate ANC officials, but the ANC was bringing a motion of no confidence against Moodley.
Hlomuka had promised last week that the cabinet would meet to resolve the dysfunctionally in the municipality, but this did not happen.
Daily News