THE MERCURY
DA caucus leader Zwakele Mncwango
Durban – The ANC-led executive committee in Durban has again blocked the appointment of the DA’s two new exco members, saying it would not be given instructions by the opposition party.
The DA caucus leader Zwakele Mncwango on Tuesday accused the ANC of “deliberately frustrating” the process and said that his party would have to consider its options.
While he would not be drawn on what these where, the party may attempt to force the issue at Thursday’s full council meeting. If it fails there, it may have to resort to legal action.
Former DA eThekwini caucus leader Tex Collins and fellow DA councillor Ronnie Veeran were removed from their positions earlier this month when a vote of no confidence was passed against them.
They were replaced by Mncwango and Heinz de Boer respectively.
Last week, a letter from the DA’s provincial leader, Sizwe Mchunu, informing the city’s executive committee about the new leader and exco representative was tabled in an exco meeting for it to be referred to full council for approval.
But the letter was rejected by mayor James Nxumalo as being “out of order and instructive” and he asked that a letter be drafted “in the correct format”, spelling out who was being replaced.
On Tuesday, all four DA members left the room before the ANC exco members deliberated over and dismissed a second letter written by DA MP Haniff Hoosen for being “too instructive”.
ANC exco member Nigel Gumede said the “ANC was running the city and it could not have the DA instructing them”.
“If we do not teach them a lesson from the outset, we are going to have problems with them.
“Should we agree to this letter, we will have the DA playing on our heads. We have to make it clear that we are running the city.”
Gumede said the DA had to send a “serious, official letter”.
Deputy mayor Nomvuso Shabalala said the wording of the letter was insulting and had offended her.
Nxumalo asked why the letter had been written by a DA MP and not a member of caucus.
“Maybe we do not understand how the DA works, but if it was the ANC, then the chief whip would send us a letter, not a Member of Parliament.”
He instructured DA chief whip Sharon Hoosen, who was present during the deliberations, to inform her party about the way the letter should be written.
Mncwango was adamant that the party would not write a third letter.
“We will not dance to the ANC’s tune and play these political games with them. There was nothing wrong with the letter and this process has nothing to do with them, their job is simply to refer it to full council,”he said.
kamini.padayachee@inl.co.za
The Mercury
