· The ANC’s Siphile Mdaka was removed as uMkhanyakude mayor after a vote led by Inkatha Freedom Party and National Freedom Party councillors.
· The youth league says the power-sharing deal is being used to push out the ANC and threatens vital service delivery in the province.
The ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal has called for the ANC to withdraw from the Government of Provincial Unity after one of its mayors was removed from office.
ANC mayor Siphile Mdaka of the uMkhanyakude District Municipality was voted out through a motion of no confidence on Friday.
The meeting took place at the Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality offices and was chaired by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi.
Mdaka, who once chaired the ANC’s Nokuhamba Nyawo region, was replaced by IFP mayor Comfort Khumalo from Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality.
The decision sparked anger from the ANC Youth League, which said the removal exposed how the unity government is working against the ANC.
ANCYL provincial secretary Lulama Mabude said the so called partnership was being used to “destroy the ANC under the guise of working together.”
She said the GPU partners were still chasing the goals of the “moon shot pact” they formed before the elections, aimed at removing the ANC from power rather than improving service delivery.
Mabude said the Youth League believes staying in the GPU would only harm the ANC and the people of KwaZulu-Natal.
She also accused Buthelezi of targeting ANC-led municipalities by sending in administrators.
The league further accused Democratic Alliance MEC for Finance Francois Rodgers of interfering in ANC-led departments and threatening to place some under administration.
Mabude said Rodgers had publicly stated that he wanted to target departments such as Education, Transport and Health, and claimed the Health Department was being underfunded.
“The removal of ANC councilors from the leadership of uMkhanyakude District Municipality by the IFP shows that the GPU is working against us,” said Mabude. “If this continues, it will deprive the people of KwaZulu-Natal of service delivery.”
Pictured above: ANC Umkhanyakude District Municipality Mayor Siphile Mdaka and Deputy minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo.
Image source: Umkhanyakude District Municipality
