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ActionSA has made the decision to submit an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the eThekwini Metro Municipality after the City Manager, Mr Musa Mbhele, and the Speaker of the Municipality, Mr Thabani Nyawose, took it upon themselves to conceal the findings of the City Integrity and Investigation Unit (CIIU) related to the eThekwini Municipality signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC) to fund the ANCWL elective conference, which took place between the 4th to the 8th of August 2023.

Upon learning that the investigation, that we had requested from the CIIU, was complete we requested the findings from Mr Mbhele, who unfortunately snubbed our request.

We, therefore, wrote to the Speaker, Mr Thabani Nyawose, requesting that he make the report available to all members of council ahead of the council meeting that sat on 9 November 2023, in order to allow members of council the opportunity to vote for the removal of the Durban ICC Board members from a well-informed position.

What is of major concern is the lengths to which Mr Nyawose is willing to go to ensure that our motion to remove the ICC Board members does not materialise.

Therefore, after consultation with our legal team, we believe that submitting the PAIA is the next step towards our fight against corruption in the City.

Section 32(1)(a) of the South African Constitution stipulates that:

• “Everyone has the right to access;
• Any information held by the state”.

Should the Municipality refuse to grant us access to this information, it therefore constitutes a limitation of our right to access this information. Organs of State are constitutionally obligated to make information in the public interest available to the public. The law is clear on this, and transparency is critical in times when corruption abounds.

Should our PAIA application be ignored, we will take further legal steps against the Municipality.

We maintain that the public has a right to have this information made available to them. Most importantly, they have to be made aware of the individuals who conspired to fleece over R5 million from them, while they battle with issues of lack of basic service delivery. Monies provided by Treasury to fix our tourism sector, create employment and clean up our sewerage, is instead used for luxurious parties by ANC members.

Issued by ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal Premier Candidate, Zwakele Mncwango