Local news

EFF breakway to take on Mtubatuba Municipality over service delivery

Public indecency and lack of by-law enforcement on agenda of planned peaceful picket outside Mtubatuba Municipality

The EFF breakway party, the African Economic Freedom (AEF) has planned a peaceful picket at the financially embattled Mtubatuba Municipality’s offices on Friday.

The party, which is led by former EFF KZN secretary Sifiso Mthethwa, said in a statement the picket emanates from communities’ complaints about poor service delivery within all 23 wards under the jurisdiction of the municipality.

AEF Sub-region Secretary Themba Mkhize said these service delivery complaints include allegations that the municipality’s councillors do not hold community meetings, and the lack of enforcement of by-laws.

“People are urinating almost anywhere. The smell of urine everywhere is a health hazard to the community. Taxis park and stop everywhere when transporting people, thus ordinary drivers can’t find adequate parking,” said

Mkhize, listing examples highlighting a lack of enforcement of by-laws.

Mkhize said police have been notified about the picket.

The party indicated that security would be a need ‘to see to it that there are no disruptions, and that law and order is obeyed and, where necessary, is enforced’.

The party further said picketers would not carry weapons.

“The community of Mtubatuba [has] deemed it fit to voice their concerns to [the] relevant authority,” reads the party’s statement.

The municipality’s registry office has also received the notice for the AEF picket.

The municipality’s communications manager, Khulekani Msweli said no complaints have been received regarding the allegation that councillors do not hold meetings in their wards.

He said, as for the public indecency claim, the municipality had engaged with the landowner of the area in question, and that the mayor held a clean-up campaign focusing on the area.

“The owner decided to put [up] those mobile toilets to address the issue,” said Msweli.

“However, there are ongoing engagements to address the issue. Further, the municipality has by-laws that are gazetted, that were previously difficult to enforce since we had no signage. We have now erected signage and our law enforcement team will subsequently act or enforce accordingly going forward,” he said.

Police spokesperson Captain Justice Hlabisa said on Thursday morning that a Section 4 meeting had been convened to decide on the picket.

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