Durban - The African Democratic Change (ADeC) led by councillor Visvin Reddy is pushing for the ousting of eThekwini Municipality speaker Thabani Nyawose on the grounds that he misled the council.
Reddy had presented a motion of no confidence against the speaker and said the motion would be debated in the council meeting this Thursday.
Reddy’s motion alleges that the speaker had misled the council when he said there had been no criminal charges facing the city manager Musa Mbhele.
The Mercury has previously reported that a 2019 report issued by the City Integrity and Investigation Unit (CIIU) allegedly implicated Mbhele in a violation of the Municipal Finance Management Act for entering into a Memorandum of Agreement that changed the terms of a tender contract without council approval.
The City has stated several times that there is no criminal case against Mbhele.
But Reddy says he had verified that the (former) head of CIIU had filed an affidavit which is currently in the possession of police, implicating the city manager in the matter.
“As an ADeC councillor at eThekwini Municipality, I have been forced to table a motion of no confidence against the ANC speaker after his handling of a report implicating the city manager,” said Reddy.
In a media briefing last month, Nyawose and Malusi Mhlongo, head of the City’s legal services, reiterated that there was no criminal case against the city manager.
At the time, in response to the notice of motion, Nyawose said it was in line with the rules of order and would be tabled at a council meeting.
Nyawose said the council would debate the notice of motion and vote on the matter, but the mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Reddy’s motion.
Opposition parties indicated that they would be cautious when dealing with the motion.
Alan Beesley of ActionSA said they were aware of the motion but were questioning Reddy’s motive.
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said he had not seen the motion.