KWADUKUZA Municipality residents have called for the municipality to be placed under administration, citing that it has been dysfunctional and paralysed by leadership squabbles.
The residents, represented by the Dolphin Coast Residents & Ratepayers Association, have written to the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, requesting intervention. They expressed concern that the municipality's dysfunction is exacerbated by numerous vacancies within the executive committee.
In their letter to the MEC, the residents stated, “We write to you today as a collective of concerned civil society organisations, representing over 30 000 households on the Dolphin Coast and in the wider KwaDukuza area. For nearly two months, our municipality has been in a state of paralysis due to the ongoing vacancies on the executive committee of Council.”
The letter highlighted that on 30 August 2024, a spokesperson from the ruling party (ANC) announced that councillor Lindi Nhaca was being recalled from her position as mayor.
Subsequently, she was removed from her position by a motion of no confidence at the Council meeting recently. Currently, there are two vacant seats on the executive committee: that of the mayor and the deputy mayor, the latter having been vacant for over a year.
The residents articulated that this paralysis is severely affecting the municipality's functioning, with correspondence, petitions, and Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) applications often going unanswered. Commitments to open-door policies and feedback mechanisms have been ignored, eroding transparency and trust within the community.
The letter said ward committees in KwaDukuza are largely dysfunctional, with few exceptions. Monthly meetings rarely occur, and when they do, they often devolve into political party gatherings. The lack of oversight allows for the creation of fabricated minutes and reports, while public meetings are frequently cancelled or misused as political platforms.
“Perhaps most grave, however, is that our municipality is failing to meet its legislative requirements regarding public participation in the IDP process. Imbizos were originally scheduled to take place from 8 October to 6 November 2024 for the 15 unique clusters and stakeholder groups.
“However, on 15 October 2024, those imbizos were indefinitely suspended with no reason or explanation. The municipality must give 14 days’ notice to the community before an imbizo and allow 21 days after consultation with their respective constituencies. As the IDP must be presented to Council by the end of November, this does not leave adequate time for community engagement and is in violation of Chapter 4 of the Municipal Systems Act, Section 16.”
The residents are therefore requesting provincial intervention under Section 139 (administration) of the Constitution in KwaDukuza.
Cogta spokesperson Senzo Mzila confirmed that the MEC has received the letter, stating that the concerns raised paint a picture of a municipality facing a service delivery and governance crisis.
“The MEC will be going directly to KwaDukuza to engage the residents since there is no Mayor and Deputy Mayor,” he added.
KwaDukuza Municipality said it was not aware of the letter and would be in the position to comment once it had details of the matter.
DA leader Dean Macpherson commented that the residents' call for Section 139 indicates a governance and political problem within the municipality, exacerbated by factionalism within the ANC, which has affected service delivery.
“Administration is one option that could be considered, but ultimately there have to be political consequences for parties, in this case the ANC, which don’t perform in government. In 2026, that will be available to voters,” he stated.
Regarding a statement from the ANC in KZN stating its dismay with the behaviour of the DA in KwaDukuza, Macpherson remarked: “It’s hard to understand exactly what they aren’t happy about. It’s not up to the DA to resolve the ANC’s internal problems and vote with them to remove a mayor they can’t get rid of.
“More so after their behaviour in Tshwane when they removed Cilliers Brink. The DA has made it clear, we are not available to assist the ANC in local government until they rectify what has happened in Tshwane.”