Durban — Despite National Treasury’s approval of eThekwini Municipality's roll over request of R1.6 billion, political party the IFP says it will not withdraw its motion to remove mayor Mxolisi Kaunda.
The party had filed the motion last week and was awaiting the Speaker Thabani Nyawose to give it a date.
IFP eThekwini leader Mdu Nkosi told the Daily News on Sunday that although his party welcomed the return of the money from the Treasury but the motion will go ahead since it was not only about the City’s failure to spend money but there are many failures which Kaunda must still account for.
“Our call for the mayor to step down continues so we are not withdrawing our motion. Under Kaunda the City’s infrastructure has collapsed and we do not think he is capable of leading this Municipality hence we want him to go,” said Nkosi.
On Thursday during a full council meeting, the mayor in his Municipal Finance Management Act report, he announced that the National Treasury has acceded to the City’s roll over request and was granted R1.6bn. In that amount, the mayor said the City will also revise its business plan to reinstate the Public Employment Programme which the City had to cancel because of lack of funds.
The City in particular Kaunda has been under immense pressure from the opposition after the Daily News broke the news that the National Treasury had turned the City’s request to roll over R1.9bn which it had failed to spend. The story led to a fist-fighting in the council meeting two weeks ago where the EFF councillors clashed with the security officials called to remove them. The party had been demanding the recusal of the city manager Musa Mbhele whom it was blaming for the City’s failure to spend the money.
The City had denied that it had forfeited the money saying it came late and was impossible to spend R1.9bn within three months. The ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele had last week dared IFP to bring its motion, saying it was doomed to fail.
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