The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has decided to change its leadership at various municipalities across the province in order to speed up service delivery.

This decision came during the ANC’s provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting on Friday.

“The quality and the leadership role of the ANC is fundamental, important and central to our mission to build a national democratic society,” said KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala. 

“The ANC has decided to recall the following comrades: mayor of uPhongolo local municipality comrade Winnie Nhlabathi; speaker of uMngeni local municipality comrade Zine Dlamini; deputy mayor of eMadlangeni local municipality comrade Ntsikelelo Ndlovu; and the speaker of uMkhanyakude district municipality comrade Solomon Msane,” said the premier.

A meeting will be held during the course of this week to find their replacements. 

Zikalala further prescribed a lifestyle audit for all cabinet members, heads of department and senior managers or directors in the local government to facilitate “clean governance”. 

“In South Africa’s political arena, where there is fierce discourse about real and perceived corruption, it is important that all steps are taken to demonstrate that the ANC is committed to and will continue to lead a fight against corruption.

“The practice of lifestyle audit is therefore crucial for the leadership that is driven by transparency and has absolutely nothing to hide from the great masses of our people,” said Zikalala. 

In late July, four officials from the premier’s office were arrested after allegedly defrauding the state in a catering tender. 

The officials, including the chief financial officer in the premier’s office, appeared alongside a service provider in the Durban commercial crimes court on charges of fraud and corruption to the tune of around R24-million.