New mayor Siduduzo Gumede faces calls for transparency in KwaDukuza

Opposition parties in KwaDukuza Municipality have expressed their desire for a mayor who will get the basics right and ensure that a culture of accountability and transparent governance takes hold.

These were the appeals made by opposition parties at the entity after the newly elected mayor, Siduduzo Gumede, committed to working with all political parties in council to improve service delivery.

Gumede’s election as mayor follows months of uncertainty at the municipality.

The election, which was confirmed at a special council meeting where Gumede was sworn in, marked his second term as mayor in the municipality.

The municipality has been without a political head since the resignation of Mayor Ali Ngidi and his deputy, Njabulo Cele, early in July.

Attempts to elect Gumede failed a few weeks ago and were halted due to an apparent revolt by ANC councillors, who were reportedly unhappy with the party's decision to bring him back. (Grammar: subject-verb agreement)

“I will be working with other political parties to improve the lives of the people of KwaDukuza,” Gumede stated during his inaugural speech.

Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus leader Privi Makhan said her organisation wished to see a mayor who will ensure that a culture of accountability and transparent governance takes hold.

“We also want to see the mayor bringing the council and administration together so that our people receive the services they deserve.

“We will continue to hold the ANC’s newly elected mayor accountable.

The ANC may have clung to office today through the complicity of smaller parties, but their days of political musical chairs in KwaDukuza are numbered,” Makhan warned. (Preposition error)

The caucus leader noted that even though Gumede brought ample experience, she was not optimistic that he would make significant changes in the municipality.

“I think that while he may bring institutional capacity and governance experience, under the ANC, it will be impossible to turn the municipality around.”

ActionSA councillor Halalisani Ndlovu stated that the mayor’s first task was to urgently address the municipality’s massive energy loss problem, which, according to Ndlovu, continued to drain resources and undermine service delivery.

“This requires decisive leadership in strengthening the revenue protection unit, improving internal systems, and ensuring accountability within the administration.

“Alongside this, basic service delivery must be placed at the top of the agenda; our residents deserve reliable services without delay.

“Equally, clean governance and accountability are vital if we are to repair the reputational damage that KwaDukuza has endured in recent years,” remarked the ActionSA leader.

Ndlovu mentioned that people have suffered due to wasteful expenditure, irregularities, and political infighting.

He also stated that restoring the municipality’s integrity and ensuring transparent decision-making would go a long way in rebuilding public confidence.

However, the ActionSA leader expressed a preference for opposition parties to have taken over the municipality and formed a principled coalition to rescue it.

“Unfortunately, this did not materialise due to a lack of unity within the opposition block.

“For this reason, ActionSA could not vote for the ANC’s candidate, as we remain unconvinced of the ANC’s ability to prioritise the needs of residents over internal party politics,” Ndlovu said.

Regarding the mayor’s wealth of experience, he expressed hope that Gumede would channel all his experience towards focusing squarely on service delivery, accountability, and the urgent financial and infrastructure challenges facing KwaDukuza.

He concluded by stating that the only way the mayor would succeed is by prioritising residents over politics, which would give him a chance to stabilise the municipality and set it back on the path of good governance.

DAILY NEWS