Imbabazane Municipality Mayor Phindile Strydom has come under fire again after the rented mayoral vehicle was involved in a collision recently. A white Toyota Fortuner is being used after the previous mayoral vehicle a Jeep Evoque was extensively damaged in an accident weeks before. According to a statement released by the Inkatha Freedom Party’s Blessed Gwala, Mrs Strydom’s driver smashed into a stationary vehicle in the parking lot in Victoria Street on January 30.
“The mayor was in the Toyota, dressed in her ANC attire when the accident occurred. Both the mayor and her driver checked the damage and the mayor instructed her driver to leave the scene without reporting the matter to the police. Assisted by community members; traffic officers were able to trace the mayor and her driver,” commented the IFP leader in the KZN Legislature, Mr Gwala.
He called this a blatant disregard for the law and is of the view that it should be viewed as a criminal offence. “The owner of the damaged car contacted the mayor and her driver at Imbabazane Municipality and they requested that the matter is settled out of court,” claimed Mr Gwala.
He has called on intervention from provincial government, saying it seems that Mrs Strydom and her bodyguards “have taken a conscious decision to destroy council vehicles”.
“The IFP calls for the urgent removal of the Imbabazane Mayor Mrs Strydom, along with her driver and bodyguards,” concluded Mr Gwala.
Echoing these comments, local IFP leader Mthembeni Majola says that Mrs Strydom should resign with immediate effect.
“We need a person who has a heart for this nation, who cares about people, who is eager to deliver services and who respects the use of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
In response Mrs Strydom declined to comment on the collision or the remarks made by the IFP, saying instead that it seems like members want to ‘popularise’ her in Estcourt.