Political ping-pong continues in uMkhanyakude
All decisions taken on the day have been set aside
The Pietermartizburg High Court found that the 3 May uMkhanyakude District Municipality council meeting, which ousted the ANC leadership and ushered in the IFP, was unlawful.
All decisions taken on the day have been set aside.
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Speaker Solomon Mkhombo approached the court as the first applicant, and the matter was heard on an urgent basis on Monday.
ANC Far North Region spokesperson Sandile Sibiya said the party welcomes the court outcome and expects the
IFP leadership to adhere to it ‘so we can continue with doing the work of supplying water to our communities’.
IFP chairperson in the district, Mfananaye Mathe said his party would respect the court outcome.
Mathe said the party was now putting together a petition to ask the speaker, Solomon Mkhombo to convene a council meeting on Thursday.
Mathe said if this petition is not acceded to, the party would approach the Cogta MEC.
‘We want the law to take precedence and we hope the speaker will call the meeting. We are the majority in the council,’ Mathe said.
Following the 3 May council meeting, Mkhombo was replaced by Petros Madlopha, while Mxolisi Nkosi was appointed as acting municipal manager (MM) after Dr Siya Ntuli was placed on immediate suspension.
On that day, Killer Mkhwanazi was elected as deputy mayor.
Ruling that Cogta’s and Ndwandwe’s application be heard on an urgent basis, the court issued an interim order that former IFP mayor Tim Moodley’s, as well as Mkhwanazi’s and Madlopha’s salaries should be converted back to those of ordinary councillors, ‘and whomever is found by the court to be entitled to the payment shall be paid once it is decided’.
The interim order also interdicted the respondents from preventing Ndwandwe from entering the municipal premises and from interfering or preventing him from performing his functions as administrator.
It also directed that the sixth respondent in the matter, Absa bank, treat Ndwandwe as a compulsory signatory to the municipality’s bank accounts, and that no payments should be made unless these are made by Ndwandwe or authorised by him in writing.
The IFP leadership had made Nkosi the signatory of the municipality’s bank account.
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