The law will run its course in uThukela municipality – Cogta MEC

Bongiwe Nomusa Sithole-Moloi, KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, is seen in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government Planning Lekgotla at the Department of Public Works in Durban.

• KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi says she plans for the delayed special sitting to elect a new leadership.
• She argues that even if the uThukela leadership defies her, they can’t run away from the law.
• uThukela municipality spokesperson Nothile Zwane says there is no new information on the matter as far as she’s concerned.

The uThukela district municipality’s IFP leadership can’t wiggle itself out of the special sitting to elect a new leadership in the municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is looking to schedule another special meeting next week, according to MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi. 

Two special council meetings, called at the request of a nexus of political parties led by the ANC and EFF coalition alliance, were brought to a halt by volatile scenes and a court order. 

The opposition parties believe they have the numbers to unseat IFP leaders, Mayor Inkosi Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala and Speaker Lihle Nqubuk, from the council on account of what they claim to be a failure in service delivery.

The parties wrote to Sithole-Moloi because they said the municipality’s leadership had been stonewalling their requests for a special council sitting.

The IFP has the backing of the DA in the municipality. 

A court order paved the way for the special sitting, while another court order essentially torpedoed Cogta’s instruction for another special sitting. Both orders were issued by the registrar at the Pietermaritzburg High Court earlier this month. 

Sithole-Moloi recently issued a statement, saying a “mob” of IFP supporters had collapsed the initial special sitting by barricading the entry to a special venue in Ladysmith.  

READ | Court deals blow to KZN Cogta MEC’s calls for special sitting in uThukela municipality

uThukela’s leadership approached the courts on two occasions to interdict the special sittings.

Provincial lawmakers recently heard from the Cogta head of administration, Thando Tubane, about how the uThukela leadership had been openly  “defying” Sithole-Moloi. 

Speaking exclusively to News24 about the rigmarole between the IFP leadership and her department over the municipality, Sithole-Moloi said: “They can defy me, but what is important is that there is law that governs our work. And I’m sticking to the law. They have to budge and continue following what I’m saying.”

She said the IFP leadership in the municipality can run to the courts, but eventually the law will run its course. 

“The [special] meeting can sit next week because that’s what we want to do,” Sithole-Moloi said.

“But if they keep on dodging us, we will have to deal with them, go to court and ask the court to allow us to continue with the meeting where people are supposed to be elected.”

uThukela spokesperson Nothile Zwane said she has no information on the matter.