Durban – Embattled eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has survived a vote of no confidence against him thanks to votes from the ANC, EFF and NFP.
Kaunda faced the motion of no confidence vote on Friday evening during a special council sitting.
The sitting was initially called to elect a new deputy mayor and whip of the council following a political shake-up last month.
However, ActionSA’s Zwakele Mncwango forced the hand of Speaker Thabani Nyawose to include the vote of no confidence since it was proposed on an urgent basis.
Under pressure from Mncwango and other opposition parties, Nyawose asked for a brief break to meet with whips of all parties.
When he returned from the meeting, he acceded to the demand, setting the stage for Kaunda’s grip on eThekwini municipality to be put to the test.
He opened the floor for debates and the DA was the first one to take the floor.
The EFF made it clear that it would not support “right wingers” to remove Kaunda from office.
The DA's Thabani Mthethwa said the ANC was a liability to the beleaguered city, blaming Kaunda for a litany of challenges faced by the city.
Another DA councillor, Mzamo Billy, tore Kaunda apart saying he had failed the city and he should go and focus on his budding career as a musician.
“We have lost confidence in him; the people of this city have lost confidence in him,” Billy said.
ActionSA’s Mncwango labelled Kaunda a total failure that should be removed from office and pleaded with opposition parties to unite to vote him out of office.
Kaunda was not without those who defended him, ranging from the NFP to his own comrades in the ANC.
The ANC’s Ntando Khuzwayo told the sitting that Kaunda did well under the trying circumstances of Covid-19, the July unrest of 2021 and the floods of April 2022.
“Speaker, this motion is not worth the paper it is written on. Let me say this speaker, before I allow the other colleagues, this mayor was able to table and get the budget approved, as per the regulations.
“This mayor steered the ship during a very difficult time of triple challenges of Covid-19, the riots and also the floods.
“The city is well under way to repair the infrastructure that was damaged during these floods,” Khuzwayo said in defence of Kaunda’s leadership.
ANC councillor Thanduxolo Sabelo joined in Kaunda’s defence, and he took a swipe at the IFP, saying what they knew was how to hold rallies and they couldn’t even tell the mayor that he had failed.
In the end, during voting which was by the show of hands, Kaunda survived the motion.
He told the media afterwards that he was going to carry on working for the people of eThekwini.
A total of 126 councillors voted for the mayor to stay in power and 81 councillors, voted him out, while one councillor had abstained from voting.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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