By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) motion for the dissolution of the eThekwini Metro Municipality council under the Municipal Structures Act has failed.
The dissolution would have prompted for fresh elections in the metro.
The DA cited the collapse of service delivery such as water, electricity and sanitation services as some of the reasons it wanted eThekwini council dissolved.
The party had to rely on other opposition parties to ensure its motion goes through as it doesn’t have the numbers to do so by itself.
Earlier this month, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)’s motion to remove mayor Mxolisi Kaunda failed after 109 voted against it. At least 89 councillors supported the removal.
The metro is led by the ANC with the assistance of some minority parties.
While the EFF serves on Kaunda’s mayoral committee, they have slammed his alleged failures and also want him replaced.
However the EFF said, “This motion has nothing to do with the issues of service delivery. But white supremacy and politicking. The EFF will not nurse the egos of the DA.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the ANC majority in the eThekwini metro removed EFF’s Themba Mvubu in the key portfolio he held.
This was a sign of the beginning of an end to the partnership arrangement that the two parties had. The partnership was struck after the 2021 municipal elections, to govern the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal.
Thabani Mthethwa, DA eThekwini caucus leader, came out gun blazing, blaming fellow opposition parties for selling out.
“We will not be deterred by today’s outcome, and we will continue to push for accountability. We were once again let down by our fellow opposition parties,” he said.
ActionSA said, “The DA’s failure to engage with all political parties within the Municipality, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), further undermined the potential success of the motion.”
The reality is that the DA never intended for their motion to succeed, hence they chose not to engage with other political parties to support the dissolution of eThekwini.