A politician who remains silent
“I will not deal with the media! I have my own way of addressing the issues of the municipality. I do not have to deal with the media,”
A failing electrical supply, allegations of mismanagement within the municipality, a council vote of no confidence in the mayor’s abilities and a town without any policies or by-laws.
These are just some of the issues that plague Emadlangeni Municipality.
Yet, the Mayor, Joe Zikhali chooses to maintain his media silence policy.
“I will not deal with the media! I have my own way of addressing the issues of the municipality. I do not have to deal with the media,” said Cllr Zikhali when he was contacted several times to help make sense of the ‘shambles’ in his municipality.
Attempts to get answers from the Municipal Manager, GPN Ntshangase were also fruitless and she directed all queries to Cllr Zikhali.
It does not seem likely Cllr Zikhali will be addressing the alleged irregular appointment of three municipal officials without following proper recruitment processes, nor will he address the sale of the irrigation system pipelines that were used in the sewerage system of the municipality.
A few months ago, Emadlangeni Municipality voted to have Cllr Zikhali removed from his post, as Council deemed him unfit. The vote was unanimous with six of the seven council members voting for his removal.
The seventh vote was his own. More than seven serious allegations against him were tabled in Council. According to municipal officials, Cllr Zikhali was also driving a vehicle without a driver’s licence.
“The traffic officers are afraid to issue him with a fine, because he is ultimately their boss at the end of the day,” said a municipal official.
South African Municipal Workers Union shop steward for the municipality, Bheki Ndluli recalled an incident when a Health and Safety Officer from the Department of Labour had come to the municipality for an inspection.
Mrs Ntshangase promptly chased the inspector off the municipal premises, allegedly instructed to do so by Cllr Zikhali.
“I witnessed the MM and Director of Corporate Services doing this. These are two members of senior management of the municipality! How can they justify such conduct?” Mr Ndludli asked.
He speculated possible reason why they chased the labour officials away, was because the municipality had been fined R1.5-million by the department for not complying with labour related legislation.
This fine amounts to around 2.5 per cent of the municipality’s budget for the year.
