Durban – eThekwini Municipality speaker councillor Thabani Nyawose has assured councillors that all concerns and any legal opinion about awaiting trial councillor Muzimuni Ngiba will be tabled at next week’s council sitting.
Municipal councillors met at the Durban Exhibition Centre on Thursday to debate mayor Mxolisi Kaunda’s State of the City Address (Soca) that he delivered in April.
One of the hot topics debated at the Soca was the issue of councillor Ngiba receiving a council salary. Nyawose said the report about Ngiba’s situation was ready.
Ward 101 councillor Ngiba is awaiting trial in Kokstad Prison, charged with the murder of fellow ward councillor Siyabonga Mkhize, who was killed in October 2021.
The councillors were angry that Ngiba is enjoying benefits they say he does not deserve, yet the residents of ward 101 are suffering through poor service delivery because they have no ward councillor.
Other issues discussed were the laying of water pipes in Phoenix, and the channelisation of water streams in Chatsworth. Infrastructural projects are said to have created about 1 200 job opportunities for eThekwini residents.
ABC councillor Bhungu Gwala asked the mayor to think about those people who were struggling to make ends meet. He said that even though the councillors were gathered at the Exhibition Centre, the masses of eThekwini residents had no food, shelter, water or any services.
ANC councillor Bhekizazi Mngwengwe urged the residents to desist from throwing foreign objects into the sewer system, causing blockages that resulted in sewage spills.
He commended the City for supplying all its citizens with water, especially those who had been experiencing water shortages since the April floods.
IFP councillor Mzwethu Gwala said the water tankers that the city was planning to buy were not necessary.
“We cannot run the city with water tankers, except for emergencies such as floods. Instead the City must take measures to improve on its water supply programmes that it implements for its citizens,” Gwala said.
ANC councillor Mzikayise Hlengwa thanked the City for providing the people of Ntuzuma with water after the floods destroyed their infrastructure in April last year.
DLC councillor Patrick Pillay said that the citizens must be ensured of safety and security in the places they lived.
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Daily News