DURBAN - OPPOSITION parties in the eThekwini municipality are demanding that action be taken against ANC councillors who failed to attend a council meeting last week, but “loitered” outside the venue of the meeting.
A council meeting for July scheduled at the ICC last week collapsed and had to be reconvened on Thursday.
“We know that there were many ANC councillors that were at the ICC, but that did not go into the meeting,” said DA councillor Thabani Mthethwa.
The meeting collapsed after the ANC held a caucus meeting that lasted close to an hour.
That long caucus meeting meant that the time for the council meeting expired and it could no longer take place according to the council rules of order.
The rules of order state that if the meeting does not take place within 30 minutes of the scheduled starting time, that meeting must be cancelled.
It is believed that the meeting collapsed because the ANC is divided on who should be appointed as the new deputy mayor. The position has been vacant for the past five months.
ANC councillor Diana Hoorzuk was considered a front runner for the position after she was elected to the executive committee and was appointed chairperson of the finance, security and emergency services committee – a role usually held by the deputy mayor.
But earlier this week The Mercury reported that Hoorzuk is not favoured by some ANC councillors and this was the subject of the party’s lengthy caucus meeting last week.
Mthethwa raised the issue of the last council meeting last week.
“I am asking this on behalf of the people of eThekwini as there are cost implications for the meeting that collapsed, we know that there are many ANC councillors that were at the ICC (on the day of the meeting) but did not go inside, are you going to take any action against those councillors,” Mthethwa asked Speaker of the municipality Weziwe Thusi.
Thusi said she could not immediately respond to the issue and would provide an answer once she has gathered all the necessary information.
THE MERCURY