Former eThekwini deputy mayor, Philani PG Mavundla who left the city on a sour note after being ousted by the ANC through a vote of no confidence has returned with a begging bowl.
Mavundla who is also the president of the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) wants eThekwini to share its resources with the people of Umvoti (Greytown) Local Municipality to solve their service delivery woes.
On Wednesday Mavundla was in Durban where he met with his former political nemesis, Mxolisi Kaunda from the ANC.
At some point, Mavundla and Kaunda were not on speaking terms and the alleged bone of contention was that Mavundla overshadowed the latter.
The fallout led the ANC to initiate a motion of no confidence against Mavundla and he was removed in December and a month later his position was taken by Zandile Myeni from the NFP (National Freedom Party).
But on Tuesday, all that was put aside as Mavundla said he was looking at whether eThekwini could help his municipality where he was elected mayor.
Mavundla initiated the visit following a media statement in which he extended encouragement and support to eThekwini leadership. This was in the wake of the recent floods that battered the coastal city.
Mavundla said during the courtesy visit that his intention was to not only check on the progress being made by the city in efforts to house hundreds of people displaced by the recent floods.
It was also to begin discussions on the possibility of a strategic partnership with eThekwini, that will involve expert technical assistance as well as the sharing of innovative and effective service delivery strategies, among other things.
“eThekwini Metro employs some of the countries’ best technicians and water scientists whose knowledge and wisdom can benefit our much smaller Umvoti municipality.”
“We are of the view that eThekwini is adequately resourced and therefore best placed to assist us with our accelerated service delivery drive which aims to not only deliver effective services to the people of Umvoti but to also ensure that our service delivery programmes are sustainable and can stimulate economic development.”
He added that with eThekwini being such a large city, they could benefit from it.
“We see eThekwini as a ‘big sister’ and believe that our people stand to benefit from such a relationship,” Mavundla concluded.
Mavundla is in a coalition with the ANC in Umvoti and he recently told IOL that their coalition is working effectively elsewhere except in eThekwini where he was chucked out by the governing party.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
IOL Politics