The first council meeting for Alfred Duma Local Municipality was held at the Indoor Sports Complex today (November 22). The new mayor, deputy mayor and speaker were elected.

The meeting had some hiccups, but ended with the election of the new speaker, Cllr Zama Sibisi of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

Cllr Bheki Sithole is the new mayor and Cllr Simelane the deputy mayor. They are both also from the IFP.

The municipal manager, Ms SS Ngiba, chaired the meeting during the swearing in of the councillors, before the election of the speaker.

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The ANC lodged a dispute, stating that they were not happy with the procedure followed by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) during the election of the speaker. This led to a heated debate between the political parties. One councillor was also physically attacked while the meeting was underway.

Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Public Safety had to intervene. After the situation had calmed down, the meeting continued.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of the Ladysmith Gazette.

Feel free to share your views about the new council and its leaders in the comments section below.