Durban — The Democratic Alliance in eThekwini has called for the immediate resignation of mayor Mxolisi Kaunda for his “continuous failure as the head of the municipality to fix months of devastating sewer spills running into our rivers and beaches and deliberately misleading the public about the state of the beaches”.
That was according to DA eThekwini caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa in a statement issued on Friday.
In full, Mthethwa said: “The DA in eThekwini today (Friday) calls for the immediate resignation of eThekwini mayor, councillor Mxolisi Kaunda for his continuous failure as the head of the municipality to fix months of devastating sewer spills running into our rivers and beaches and deliberately misleading the public about the state of the beaches.”
Mthethwa said this is showing serious disregard for the health of residents of eThekwini and unsuspecting tourists.
DA calls for eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda to resign for misleading the public on the reopening of beaches!
Thabani Mthethwa - DA eThekwini Caucus Leader#EThekwiniSewerCrisis pic.twitter.com/WQceCs3j5b
On Friday they had challenged Kaunda to demonstrate to the residents and the people of the city that he had indeed fixed all sewage spills as per his recent public announcement, saying that beaches, including uMhlanga main beach, was open and safe for swimming, Mthethwa said.
“It is not surprising that the mayor did not honour the challenge today (Friday) because he knows for a fact that raw sewage is still running into rivers and eventually to our beaches.
“The fact that mayor Kaunda is not willing to swim at some of the beaches he confirmed were safe and open raises further suspicions that he may have deliberately misled the public, residents, and unsuspecting tourists in his efforts to fraudulently boost visitors,” Mthethwa said.
“This is absolutely reckless, selfish and unacceptable by the city’s first citizen.
“It is for these reasons that the DA calls for mayor Kaunda to immediately resign from his position as mayor of eThekwini Municipality as he has shown beyond reasonable doubt that he has failed in his duties to resolve the sewer crisis which has gone on for more than eight months, subjecting residents to a serious health disaster,” said Mthethwa.
He said the party will provide Kaunda with at least seven days to consider stepping down.
“Should mayor Kaunda fail to concede to his failures as the head of the municipality, we will immediately begin looking at bringing a motion of no confidence against the mayor at the next council meeting in January 2023,” Mthethwa said.
He said the DA has started consulting with relevant stakeholders and there is a strong feeling that the mayor has been completely absent since the floods occurred, leaving residents and the poor to fend for themselves.
The DA’s call came a day after the municipality unveiled its readiness to host a safe festive season.
On Thursday, Kaunda and deputy city manager Dr Musa Gumede each had a swim at a Durban beach.
Kaunda swam at North Beach in the afternoon, while Gumede swam at an uMhlanga beach in the morning.
Daily News