Durban – The deputy mayor and the Speaker of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) run Umsinga-local municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is facing a vote of no confidence from their own party councillors and the opposition.
The two are accused of wrecking municipal vehicles and allegedly trying to conceal the accidents and evading accountability.
NEWS: Turmoil in the IFP-run Msinga local municipality in KZN where some councillors have instituted a motion to get deputy mayor & Speaker removed from office. The speaker is accused of driving a municipal vehicle without permission, got involved in an accident & hid it. @IOL pic.twitter.com/tAGeDqe2Ud
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) April 4, 2023
The motion has already been recorded but a date for it to be debated is not yet set.
According to a draft agenda for the municipality which was seen by IOL, the motion could be tabled before the end of this month.
The two motions were sparked by two road accidents that happened in July and November last year.
According to a source within the municipality, the Speaker, Sifundo Godfrey Masimula, was driving himself when the accident happened at the Msinga top area.
He was driving a municipal car, with registration number NUF 5885. The deputy mayor’s had the registration number NUF 4669, and it was involved in an accident a few months later.
“The Speaker breached the codes of the municipality by driving himself yet he has a designated driver to carry out that task.
“What made his case even worse was that there was an attempt to hide the accident and he was never held accountable as required.
“In this case, the municipal manager should have forced him to pay for the wrecked vehicle instead of allowing him to get away scot-free.
“That’s why a group of councillors want them to be voted out of office before the end of this month of April.
The deputy mayor’s accident, Thenjiwe Mbatha, happened around the Ngome area, near the Inkosi Mbongeleni Zondi one-stop shop.
“This accident was never investigated, instead they tried to hide it.
“There should have been an ad-hoc committee to look at these accidents, but that was never done by the municipality.
“By doing this, they violated their oath of office to be transparent in all that they do,” a councillor in the municipality told IOL.
Despite repeated requests to get the municipal manager, Senzo Sokhela, to comment on the matter, he failed.
Last week, Sokhela said they were in a day-long meeting in an area with poor signal and asked for an extension to respond.
He later ignored all queries regarding the matter. The last reminder was sent to Sokhela on Tuesday and it went unanswered.
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