Durban - Hosting an impromptu press conference in Durban on Wednesday morning, eThekwini mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, roundly denied that there are tensions between him and his deputy, Philani “PG” Mavundla of ABC (Abantu Batho Congress).
Kaunda, who was addressing the media conference from the Durban city hall, the administrative capital of the municipality, sought to explain why Mavundla has been in the public eye more than him.
He said Mavundla is bound to always be on the ground on the basis that he is the chairperson of the human settlement committee, which is tasked with resolving perennial housing issues in the city.
This was after the Daily News asked him to comment on the relationship between him and Mavundla following reports from the city hall that there was a fallout between the two. There are reports that there is a feeling that Mavundla is overshadowing Kaunda, who should always be seen on the ground when there are issues.
Mavundla is in a coalition arrangement with the ANC after it failed to gain an outright majority. As part of the deal, Mavundla was made deputy mayor, and he was also given the position of chairing the committee on human settlement.
However, there are already signs that the coalition is on the rocks after Mavundla on Monday sided with opposition parties to turn down the ANC on its proposal to have Max Mbili appointed as the next city manager.
UPDATE: EThekwini mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, says the issue of a vote of no confidence is part of a democratic process and that should be left to political parties, not him. There are fears that the ABC of Philani PG Mavundla may dump the ANC and kick it out of power. @DailyNewsSA pic.twitter.com/Y3ygxJt0Z2
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) April 6, 2022
Apparently, Mavundla is concerned that Mbili is an ANC member, and he will be held and swayed by the ruling party. He proposed that a neutral candidate be appointed, and the ANC refused, hence the decision not to back Mbili’s candidature.
Prior to that, there were already reports that the ANC was not happy with Mavundla, who they said should be “isolated” before he used his position to place his party ahead of the 2024 provincial and national elections.
Despite all this, Kaunda said all was well between him and Mavundla.
Kaunda also addressed the issue of the appointment of the city manager which he said was "above board". He said he “was not surprised” that the opposition voted to reject Mbili, and said they had accepted the outcome.
Although there is ample evidence that the ANC’s deployment committee, which includes some members of the provincial top-five and alliance partners, tainted the process by removing Musa Mbhele and placing Mbili at the top, Kaunda denied there was such.
Furthermore, he denied that there was political interference saying he and Nkosenhle Madlala, a senior ANC councillor chairing the governance committee in the municipality, sat because of their position, not as members of the governing party.
On the issue of frequent water cuts in northern townships like KwaMashu, Inanda, Ntuzuma, Lindelani, Castlehill, and others, he said the challenge is with their bulk water supplier, Umgeni Water, and they are working with them to address it.
With some areas experiencing power cuts that last up to three days, Kaunda said the problem is caused by fibre installers who tend to damage their infrastructure while doing their work.
Daily News