Community has confidence in new mayor

NEWLY elected mayor of the AbaQulusi council, Martin Mtshali, is rumoured to have a few scandalous skeletons in his closet.

Since he was gowned at the council inauguration last Thursday, unconfirmed rumours have surfaced that Cllr Mtshali once had inappropriate relations with a girl at the school where he served as principal, and that he allegedly attempted to defraud the traffic department just before being dismissed from the Mayoral position he held in 1999.

Regardless of any past shenanigans, however, community activists have voiced their approval of Cllr Mtshali being elected mayor, saying he has the skills, competency and charisma to set AbaQulusi municipality on a course for positive change.

Former chairperson of the Ratepayers’ Association, Doug Grewar, described Cllr Mtshali as a gentleman, saying, “He seems to be a decent person.”

“On behalf of AbaQulusi residents, I welcome Martin’s return as mayor and Michael Khumalo’s appointment as speaker. We offer them, and all the new councillors, our best wishes in the heavy tasks that lay ahead of them. Let us put the past behind us and move forward together,” said Mr Grewar.

“This also applies to the ANC councillors, and we appeal to them to put the interests of AbaQulusi ahead of party interests and co-operate with other councillors in the interests of development, service delivery and job creation. If the national government illegally attempts to withhold funds from our IFP headed municipality they must be reminded that nearly 50% of residents voted for them. They must release all due funds to AbaQulusi or they will be summonsed to the Constitutional Court. The ‘honeymoon period’ will last for three months so by Christmas we will be expecting to see some improvements.”

AfriForum chairperson, André van der Walt, was a member of staff at the municipality during Cllr Mtshali’s previous reign as mayor, and believes that Cllr Mtshali has what it takes to, “turn things around for the better.”

“He was a good mayor in the past and I know his abilities in council. He has the personality, the leadership qualities and the eloquence to run the council. If there is anybody who can do it, it’s him. I may not believe in the IFP as a party, but I do like Martin Mtshali,” said Mr van der Walt.

“I like Martin,” are words also uttered by former editor of the Vryheid Herald, John Carnegie, who believes that electing Cllr Mtshali as mayor is a, “hugely beneficial move for the town.”

“I really believe that having Martin Mtshali as mayor will be a huge benefit to the AbaQulusi municipality. He seems to have an understanding of how a municipality should be run. He is an approachable person and seems to have an ability to listen to people and understand them. He also has a huge sense of humour. I wish him all the very best,” said Mr Carnegie.

Specialist accountant, Willem Burger, who served on the council when Cllr Mtshali was mayor in 1999, commended Cllr Mtshali for being a pragmatic man who allowed everyone the opportunity to speak their mind and listened to everyone’s point of view, even if he didn’t implement every suggestion.

“During this term, Cllr Mtshali needs to be a firm disciplinarian and take control of the budget to ensure that it complies with the rules set out by national treasury. He should also encourage the IFP not to walk out of meetings when they disagree with something, but to sort out differences at the meetings,” advised Cllr Burger.

DA councillor, Magda Viktor, said she would not have voted for Cllr Mtshali to be elected as mayor if she wasn’t confident in his abilities.

“He has council experience, having been the mayor before, and he has organisational skills, having been the headmaster of a school. I look forward to working with him, especially with regards to dealing with the water crisis, and with the dump site, which has been burning for years. He is definitely a people’s person and he is smart.”

IFP supporters showed their approval of Cllr Mtshali with thunderous applause and deafening cheering as he made his way to the stage to be gowned and chained during the council inauguration.

Read about the election of the Deputy Mayor:Deputy mayor elected in ANC’s absence.

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