Greytown - Former eThekwini deputy mayor Philani PG Mavundla who is now a councillor in the Umvoti local municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands has spelt out his vision for the greater Greytown.
Speaking to IOL a day after he was sworn in as a PR (proportional representative) councillor amid rumours that he is gunning for the mayoral position, Mavundla said Greytown should be restored to its former glory.
Mavundla was sworn in on Friday and he is taking a vacant seat which was left by his party’s councillor in February this year.
The councillor was allegedly pushed out by Mavundla’s party in order to make way for him when he left eThekwini as an ordinary councillor.
In his interview with IOL, he likened the largely agricultural town of Greytown to a sleeping giant that has been deprived of its economic potential by successive political leadership that had no vision.
He said at some point, Sasko Bakery which is now based in Durban, was once in Greytown, but relocated.
“The disinvestments that have been taking place, we will deal with it speedily,” Mavundla said.
He also spoke about governance issues within the Umvoti local municipality.
He claimed that the IFP-run municipality is currently paying the nearby ANC-run Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) to manage its waste and that should come to an end.
“Greytown is transporting its waste to Msunduzi, costing millions of the ratepayers' money. This will now come to an end,” he claimed.
Furthermore, he claimed that almost all senior officials in the municipality have bodyguards and that is draining the municipality of finances that should be dedicated to service delivery.
“In the Umvoti municipality, every senior official has a bodyguard this, too, will have to come to an end so that money can be used for what it was intended for, being service delivery,” he said.
The municipality is set to convene a special council sitting before the end of this month after a Pietermaritzburg High Court ruling.
During that sitting, the ANC and ABC (Abantu Batho Congress) which is led by Mavundla as president, is expected to vote the IFP Mayor, Gabriel Malembe and others out.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
Current Affairs