Durban — Civil rights movement Umsinsi has announced that it would visit eThekwini Municipality mayor Mxolisi Kaunda in its controversial door-to-door campaign to hold politicians in KwaZulu-Natal accountable for their actions.
The decision appears to have been fuelled by the presentation made by the former city deputy mayor, Philani Mavundla, to the group on Thursday last week.
After the group stormed Mavundla’s home, his party, Abantu Batho Congress, met the movement’s leadership and it was agreed that Mavundla would account for what he had done during his tenure as the deputy mayor.
The Zulu nationalist group also referred to itself as uMsinsi WokuziMilela (original natives) or Abantwana bakaMthaniya (children of Mthaniya – the mother of the Zulu King Senzangakhona).
The group’s spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, confirmed that they were now targeting Kaunda, adding that the group was disappointed with Kaunda’s performance in the city considering that he was recalled from the legislature to stabilise the city.
Ngcobo hinted that the group’s visit to Kaunda’s home could turn into a sit-in because it had taken a decision that he must step down or the provincial government must appoint an administrator to run the city.
Though Mavundla denied that his presentation about the state of the city to the group may have influenced its decision to call for Kaunda’s resignation, in the statement the group said after the former deputy mayor’s presentation the people left the seminar feeling hopeless and traumatised.
The group said the presentation confirmed the reality that the eThekwini Municipality is in bad shape.
The statement further read: “The following resolutions are to be embarked upon with immediate effect with uMsinsi WokuziMilela tasked to lead the campaign(s) of:
• Suspension and dissolution of municipal councils under Section 139 of the Constitution.
• Removal of Mxolisi Kaunda as the eThekwini mayor.
• uMsinsi has resolved to execute its signature door-to-door walkabout by visiting Kaunda’s houses.
• uMsinsi is making a clarion call and appealing to all the ratepayers and the citizens of eThekwini Municipality to be the fortress of our children’s future.”
The mayor’s spokesperson, Mluleki Mntungwa, said if members of the public want to engage with the mayor, they must come to the City Hall and not his private residence.
“Mayor Kaunda has an open-door policy and meets with various public and private representatives on a regular basis at City Hall.
“We wish to reiterate that the mayor continues to be hard at work to improve the lives of the people of eThekwini,” Mntungwa said.
He said the recent assessment by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs indicated that the municipality was functional and financially viable.
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Daily News