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ActionSA rejects the decision made by the Speaker of the eThekwini Municipality, Mr Thabani Nyawose, to rule against the tabling of our motion to remove the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC) Board, after their failure to heed our recommendation to open a case of theft and corruption with the South African Police Service (SAPS), after the eThekwini Municipality and the Durban ICC conspired to embezzle public funds to pay for the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) elective conference.

Considering that the motion was meant to have been debated during the previous council meeting but was suspended to this council meeting due to unforeseen circumstances, it is clear that the leaders of the Municipality are now on a mission to exhaust all schemes to prohibit the motion from being duly ventilated.

O Wednesday we wrote to the Speaker requesting that he makes the City Integrity and Investigation Unit (CIIU) investigative report available to council members prior to the commencement of the council meeting for the benefit of council members who were to debate and vote on the motion, however, our request was unduly snubbed by the Speaker.

The Speaker sought advice from the legal team on whether to commence or rule against tabling the motion, and legal came back outlining that the report has not been fully processed and are not satisfied that the motion should be considered as planned, recommending that the motion not be tabled, labelling it “premature”.

It is undeniable that this was a coordinated scheme by the legal team and presiding officers in an effort to protect certain individuals who may be implicated in the report, as done by the City Manager, Mr Musa Mbhele, after he too snubbed our request to be given access to the report findings.

We however called for the processing of the motion in accordance with the Municipal System’s Act, sections 93G; 93H and 93L, which covers the code of conduct for directors, and gives clear instructions to remove or recall a director appointed or nominated by a municipality, due to breaching the Act.

This is yet another clear demonstration that leaders of the Municipality will bend over backwards to protect their cadres, while allowing the City to rot, and its residents to suffer as a result of their greed.

One has to be clear that today’s proceeding will not deter us seeking justice for the people of eThekwini, but, it has fuelled a fire like no other.

We are currently in talks with our legal team to explore avenues we can take in dealing with this matter.   

Issued by ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal Chairperson, Zwakele Mncwango