By Celani Sikhakhane
The ANC’s plan in KwaZulu-Natal was to get rid of DA premier candidate Chris Pappas and the DA’s only municipality of uMngeni.
Their plan however suffered a huge blow after they were rejected by the Municipality Demarcation Board.
The ANC had asked the board if it could join the uMngeni Local Municipality outside Pietermaritzburg with ANC-run municipalities in the uMgungundlovu District to form a Metropolitan Municipality.
This move would have seen the DA losing the only KZN municipality where they are in charge.
The board concluded that the ANC-led proposal failed to meet the demarcation criteria.
The rejection also came after uMngeni residents had submitted 10,000 objections against the proposal.
The ANC put forward its proposal after the rise of Pappas’s popularity in the province.
DA Mooi-uMngeni constituency head Greg Krumbock called this a victory for uMngeni residents.
“Had the amalgamation gone ahead, poorly run ANC local municipalities such as Msunduzi, Mpofana and Impendle, among others would have merged with the efficiently run DA uMngeni Local Municipality,” said Krumbock.
“Since the DA took over the uMngeni Local Municipality from the ANC, there have been many drastic improvements as a result of honest, transparent and accountable governance.”
ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said they will study the reasons behind the Demarcation Board’s decision before commenting fully on the matter.
“We will always make our proposals based on demarcation but we also respect the board because they will always come up with their own decisions as they did in this case,” said Mndebele.
Pictured above: UMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas survived the ANC plan to chop up the DA-run municipality.
Image source: X
