Ugu mayor moves on

Speculation is rife that four candidates have their eyes set on Ugu District Municipality’s vacant mayoral hot seat.

This follows the resignation of incumbent Mondli Chiliza, right in the middle of the ongoing water crisis which has affected thousands in the Southbroom to Port Edward and neighbouring inland areas.

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Mr Chiliza was moved by the ANC top brass to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature as an MPL after the recent national general elections, a moved confirmed by ANC provincial secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli.

Insiders (who spoke on condition of anonymity) claimed Mr Chiliza had been asked to move to the provincial legislature following squabbles between him, his colleagues and comrades at the municipality.

“The relationship between Mr Chiliza and Ugu management soured when he repeatedly told the ANC caucus he wanted to get rid of municipal manager DD Naidoo for no valid reason,” said an ANC Ugu caucus member.

It is believed the ANC had also encountered difficulties in trying to convince Mr Chiliza to sign a letter of acceptance for his current role as MPL prior to the elections.

Mr Chiliza has told the Herald that there were ‘no squabbles’ between himself and his colleagues.

Meanwhile, current deputy mayor Phumlile Mthiyane is in charge until a new mayor is appointed, said Ugu spokesman, France Zama.

“The municipality is guided by the prescripts of the Municipal Structures Act which dictates that in an event where the position in the office of the mayor is vacant, the deputy mayor exercises the powers and performs the duties of the mayor. The process of the election of a mayor will unfold after the vacancy of the mayor has been declared before the upcoming council sitting.”

Ugu council is expected to meet today (Thursday) where a vacancy for the position is to be declared.

Once the vacancy has been declared, the ANC Regional Task Team (RTT) is entitled to compile a list of three possible candidates.

Once the list has been finalised, the RTT will submit it to the Provincial Executive Committee for approval.

So far, four names have been mooted at sub-region level.

These include Sizwe Ngcobo who is currently Umzumbe Municipality mayor, Thabani Dube who is currently Umdoni Municipality mayor, Lindo Mzimela who is the Ugu Executive Council member and the acting Ugu mayor, Phumlile Mthiyane.

The four are all part of the current Ugu council.

Local ANC members believe Mr Ngcobo is most likely to get the job as he not only has a large local support base, but is also close to those in power in the province.

“Whoever gets the job can expect fireworks as Ugu is currently facing pressure from its community due to water shortages, constant pipe breaks and ageing infrastructure,” said one ANC member.

Mr Ntuli added, “Consultation between regions and the province will take place within the next 15 days. We expect that in less than 30 days we will have filled all vacancies caused by the deployment of mayors to the provincial legislature, as in the case with Mr Chiliza.”

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