Endumeni’s R310-million 2017/18 budget was passed at a Council meeting but not without controversy. Two ANC Councillors and one DA Councillor were not present at the meeting.
However, there was a quorum formed to continue with the meeting.
Before the Mayor, Richard Mbatha, could table the budget, ANC Councillor Hope Xaba, addressed Council saying that the ‘budget should not be passed as they had not been given any chance to see the final draft and that the motions that the party had tabled had still not been tabled as there had not been a full Council meeting for some months’.

After that, he left the meeting. His ANC colleagues stayed on and after some confusion, the passing of the budget was proposed and seconded after which the remaining three ANC Councillors left.
Mayor Mbatha then presented the budget and gave a speech to a television crew that was present.
Mayor Mbatha highlighted that service delivery was first on the agenda as was the fight against corruption. He also pointed out that the theft of electricity, running at about R11-million for the first eight months of the current financial year, was crippling the Council’s finances. He said the Council was committed to taking up this challenge.
Later, ANC Chief Whip Lucky Khumalo told the Courier that they were concerned that the budget did not include complaints made by those attending the Ward 7 roadshow meeting. He also questioned as to how the budget could be passed before the Mayor had presented the document. He said the ANC would be reporting the matter to the MEC.