Political turmoil as Mayor Ali Ngidi defies ANC's resignation order in KwaDukuza Municipality

KwaZulu-Natal ANC's plan to fix KwaDukuza Local Municipality has been thrown into turmoil following the mayor, Ali Ngidi's alleged refusal to leave office after the party fired him early this month.

According to ANC sources within the region, when the provincial task team coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu announced the removal of Ngidi and his deputy, Njabulo Cele, he gave them two weeks to submit their letters of resignation to the Speaker of the council, Dolly Govender.

However, Ngidi is said to have continued to defy the party while Cele is said to have complied. The source said if Ngidi continues to defy the party orders, the party will have no option but to file for a vote of no confidence to remove him.

Govender confirmed that Ngidi has not resigned while Cele has done so. She said she did not know what will happen if the mayor has not resigned by next week since the ANC instructed her to ensure that by the end of next week, the council elects a new mayor and deputy mayor.

"I do not know what will happen, however, I have been instructed that by the end of next week the council should have a new mayor and a deputy mayor," 

Attempts to get comments from Ngidi were unsuccessful while ANC provincial spokesperson Fanle Sibisi said he was in a meeting in Johannesburg and was unable to speak.

In terms of the municipal process, the Speaker has to issue the notice of the council meeting before seven days which means the notices to the councillors must be sent on Friday and followed by the agenda. This means Ngidi must submit his resignation letter either on Wednesday or, at the latest, on Thursday so that the Speaker must start preparing for the next council meeting to elect new leadership next week.

On July 2,  ANC provincial task team coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu summoned the party caucus, where he presented the report and the recommendations of the team that the party had appointed in April to investigate the reported abuse of privileges by both Ngidi and Cele. 

Besides removing the pair from their positions, the ANC also ordered them to pay back the money they splurged on luxury vehicles since assuming office in November without council approval. The report that was presented to council in April showed that from November to February the mayor had spent R497,180.10 while his deputy had spent R527,720.13 which meant the municipality was paying R17,590 on the vehicle hire. 

Furthermore, the ANC ordered Ngidi to pay for fuel use of the mayoral car which was used to transport his family, particularly his children to school. 

Ngidi will also have to pay for the security firm that guarded his home which was also not approved by the council. It was reported that the Durban-based security company was billing the municipality R173,000 for eight guards that were stationed at the mayor’s house day and night. It is not clear for how long the company had guarded his home.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za