By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
eThekwini executive mayor councillor Mxolisi Kaunda survived a motion to remove him as both mayor and a member of the executive committee.
The motion was debated at a council meeting slated for Wednesday.
Opposition parties blamed Kaunda for the City’s service delivery woes. Using the provisions of section 53 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, No. 117 of 1998 Regulations, the chief whip of the IFP, Mdu Nkosi, on 7 November 2023, called for a motion of no confidence debate against Kaunda.
The critical services cited included the maintenance of roads, provision of water to residents, and waste collection.
Speaking before the council meeting at the Durban ICC on Wednesday, provincial DA leader Francois Rodgers said the city’s failure to maintain infrastructure, leading to huge water losses before reaching households, was to blame for the ongoing water crisis in Durban.
“There’s more water than eThekwini needs but 40% of it disappears or is lost to the ground and a total of 57% is unaccounted for, so clearly the city and its officials do not have the capacity to do the job of water reticulation.”
He was leading a protest by DA-aligned residents from regions in the city who were picketing outside the council venue in support of the party’s motion to dissolve the municipality.
They said the ongoing water crisis was more evidence the council should be dissolved so fresh elections could take place.
Rodgers said their meeting with the uMngeni water board suggested the situation may get worse as uMngeni-uThukela water has to start restricting its allocation to the city to meet its water licence.
The DA also indicated it would support the IFP’s vote of no confidence against Kaunda.
Speaker Thabani Nyawose announced how the council voted during a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
“Those who are in support of the notice of motion are 98. Those who are against the notice of motion are 109, and those who abstained are two.
“Therefore, the notice of motion has been rejected by the majority.”
Kaunda survived a similar motion in 2023 when the EFF and NFP joined the ANC in opposing it.
The DA led the opposition with 55 councillors, followed by the EFF with 20, the IFP with 15, ActionSA with four and United Independent Movement and VF Plus with one each.
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Video Courtesy of eThekwini Municipality.