Motion of no confidence against eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda fails

eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has survived another urgent motion to remove him from the council.

In a rescheduled council meeting held at the Durban ICC on Friday, 126 of the available 209 councillors — including the EFF — voted against the motion, while 81 voted in support.

The motion to remove Kaunda had been filed by Active Citizens Coalition’s Imtiaz Syed last Wednesday, citing dissatisfaction with his leadership over the past year.

The motion was set for Tuesday’s council meeting. However, opposition councillors raised a concern that a motion of this nature could not be in a virtual meeting because the number of present councillors could not be verified.

Meanwhile, the National Freedom Party's Zandile Myeni was elected as the city's deputy mayor ahead of the IFP's Mduduzi Nkosi after garnering 128 of the 209 votes. 

She was also allocated the ANC's seat in the city's executive committee vacated by ousted deputy mayor Philani Mavundla. 

Patience Sishange was voted in as the new whip of the council, also with 128 votes. She replaces Thembo Ntuli who resigned in December.

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