Johannesburg – The DA has dislodged the ruling party in uMngeni municipality recording 13 seats out of 25 council seats.
UMngeni is the first municipality to be governed by the DA in KZN.
“In our campaigns, we were offering real solutions to the people. We are also awaiting results from other voting districts particularly those in the rural areas. This is a victory for the people of uMngeni who for years had been at the mercy of corrupt politicians swindling money meant for their development,” said Sthembiso Ngema, DA’s deputy provincial chairperson
The municipality located in Howick under the uMgungundlovu district, in the province’s midlands region was previously governed by the ANC. Heightened political tensions and jostling for the control of the municipal financial resources between ANC councillors rendered the uMngeni rendered the municipality ungovernable leading to massive community protests over service delivery. The ANC was also dealt a heavy blow in the eve of elections when its deputy mayor Nompumelelo Buthelezi crossed the floor and joined the DA.
In the 2016 local elections government the DA displayed a strong showing only losing by a mere 9% of voter share. The council has seen massive community protests over endemic corruption and poor service delivery. Last year, the municipality came under spotlight when it emerged that it had lost millions of rands in fraudulent activities. In one instance, the municipal department awarded a tender of more than R 400 000 under the pretext of servicing a truck which had not been on the road since 2013.
To read more political news and views, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
