Suspended KwaDukuza mayor Lindi Nhaca. Picture: Facebook
FOLLOWING weeks of tensions and veiled threats by the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal against KwaDukuza mayor Lindi Nhaca, the party leadership has announced her suspension from both the organisation and her official duties.
ANC KZN spokesperson Mafika Mndebele announced the suspension yesterday, citing the defiance he said the suspended mayor had demonstrated against the ruling party in public as the reason for the drastic move.
According to the spokesperson, the suspension includes:
● Refraining from attending any meeting of the ANC including scheduled KwaDukuza municipal ANC caucus meetings.
● Barring her from attending KwaDukuza Council meetings as ANC public representative.
In addition, Mndebele said the suspended mayor was not allowed to call any community meeting as an ANC public representative.
“The suspension is based on her public display of defiance of ANC decisions. There are disciplinary processes under way, and there is clear evidence that her ensuing behaviour will compromise these processes,” said Mndebele.
The spokesperson cautioned against any act of defiance from party members, especially those deployed in public, indicating that the ANC leadership would not take kindly to such behaviour.
“We remind leaders deployed to different spheres of government that all ANC members who swear allegiance to the party have to accept that they serve the ANC and ultimately the people under the banner of the organisation. Linked to the above, ANC members who swear allegiance to the organisation are expected to subordinate their interest to the party’s strategic objectives,” Mndebele stressed.
The spokesperson said the move was part of the renewal process the ANC has committed to undertake in a bid to revive its political fortunes.
“The ANC is renewing itself. Therefore, we reiterate our determination to act firmly against the violation of the party’s constitution. The ANC has acted in the past and will never stop acting decisively against office-bearers or public representatives who fail, refuse or neglect to abide by the provisions of the constitution of the ANC, its standing orders, rules, regulations, resolutions and policies adopted,” Mndebele said.
According to the spokesperson, Nhaca had behaved in a manner that had the potential to weaken the ANC and compromise the unity within its ranks, and this was one of the reasons that the leadership had acted promptly against her.
The spokesperson assured the public of the party’s commitment to ensuring that service delivery was not affected in KwaDukuza Local Municipality, adding that the ANC would convene community meetings and ensure that all deployees of the ANC across all levels strengthen service delivery for the benefit of residents.
The move comes a month since provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo gave an indication during a press briefing of the leadership’s intention to intervene at the municipality, saying the move was part of preparing for the 2026 local government elections.
At that press briefing in August, the secretary dismissed suggestions that the interventions were a witch-hunt against the mayor, saying it was merely a move to foster coherence and unity within the ANC-led municipality.
Nhaca's spokesperson Sphelele Ngobese said: "We would like to reserve our comment at this stage."