Residents share their blunt truth about possible return of Philani Mavundla as Umvoti mayor

Residents of the Umvoti local municipality, north of Durban, have mixed feelings about the potential return of Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) president Philani Mavundla as mayor.

Mavundla was widely expected to be elected as the new mayor of the municipality during a special council meeting in Greytown on Thursday, where a motion to remove IFP mayor Gabriel Malembe was reportedly on the agenda.

The meeting did not go ahead, however, as the mayor and council speaker failed to attend, prompting its collapse.

Municipality spokesperson Phindile Phungula said it was because the meeting did not have the approval of the municipal manager.

Mavundla, however, rubbished those claims. The former eThekwini deputy mayor told TimesLIVE they had submitted a motion asking for the sitting of a special meeting on March 16. The expiry date for the request was this Thursday.

Mavundla said the proceedings didn’t need anyone’s permission since they were supported by the majority of the council, but the speaker was “compelled” to call the meeting

“The speaker decided not to call the meeting, thus the responsibility shifted to the municipal manager. The MM advertised the meeting on the municipality website and the Greytown gazette, which comes out once a week. This one was out yesterday [Wednesday] so it is a lie that the meeting was not called,” he said.

“The meeting was called [but] when they realised that the negotiations were not getting anywhere, to try and change the scenario, they decided to [cancel] the meeting by pulling the advert that was on the website. Unfortunately we had already printed the advertisement. We have the hard copy. They couldn’t pull what was on the gazette because it issued yesterday morning already.”

When the entire IFP did not attend the special meeting on Thursday, the deputy manager, who is from the ABC, called the municipal manager to handle it, said Mavundla, who refused and said she had not called any meeting despite the advert being issued on her name.

He said they left the meeting after 15 minutes and wrote a second motion and gave the municipal manager four days to call the meeting.

Phungula said the municipality would do a media conference on the issue.

Mavundla previously held the mayoral position in the municipality as a member of the ANC between 2011 and 2013, and the majority of Umvoti residents who spoke to TimesLIVE admitted that his stint had been successful and they would welcome him.

Claude Emraj said: “I'd feel optimistic about that because when he was mayor everything seemed optimistic. He provided a shopping centre and whenever his name was mentioned it was to do with positivity. When he left the ANC for the ABC, things were looking up for the ABC.

“I would second his return. He introduced a very transparent system of hiring people — unlike what is happening now, where they don't even advertise the posts sometimes. He's human, so he may change, but if I had to judge him based on his previous work, there is a lot that I can point at, even today. He also saw the need for us to have a shopping centre instead of going to Pietermaritzburg for our needs. I don't know about his party [the ABC] but him as a man, I trust him.”

However, this doesn't mean everyone wants Mavundla back as mayor. While some admitted they would welcome his re-appointment because of what he had done previously, others were indifferent.

“I wouldn’t vote for him because he just abandons you as a voter and leave. We even voted for him when he started this new party, the ANC, but then he left,” said Zodwa Mchunu.

“He really disappointed us. We put our faith in him and followed him wherever, but then he abandoned us. He did well and gained our trust, but then hanged us out to dry. We followed him from the NFP to the ANC and then to the ABC — but never gain. I would rather throw my vote at the IFP. He is not a man I can trust.”

Another resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “We may change the current mayor with Mavundla, but maybe he’s leaving a mess where he comes from. Maybe he’s coming with those intentions. He was trustworthy before, but he still decided to leave us for eThekwini.

“He was the one who introduced us to ABC. We didn’t know about that and saw it as Mavundla — because we believed in him, we changed to ABC. He than left us with enemies ... we got when we changed to ABC. Now we don’t know what to expect.

“I support the removal of Gab [Malembe] but [I'm] not calling for Mavundla [to be mayor]. I have question marks about him.”

Another resident said: “The municipality is not what it used to be — it changed for the worse years ago. Mavundla’s stint, like a few before him, also fell at the time when everybody was for themselves, there was nobody for us. Everybody was for corruption, they were all in the gravy train.

“People who were not in the gravy train were isolated and taken out of the municipality, so it would be a big mistake. He failed in eThekwini and now he is coming back.”

Mavundla admitted he was aware of reports linking him to the mayoral position but denied the ABC had such agreements in place with anyone.

“This notion that I was gonna be a mayor is being said all over, but I know nothing about it. There are no positions that have been agreed yet between the ABC, the ANC and IFP ... That is what is being said and I wouldn't be surprised if people deem that I qualify to be a major, but that will depend on the vote and negotiations,” he said.

“The idea, at the moment, is to remove the people who are not doing their job and then we sit down and agree on what is best for the people of Umvoti.”

He said the ABC was speaking to both the ANC and IFP about the possibility of a council with all three parties represented in senior positions, but they were in a coalition with neither.

He reiterated that they did not have an umbrella approach to coalition partners. He said there were municipalities where the ABC was working well with the IFP, including in Alfred Duma and Dannhauser, and others where they were working well with the ANC, including in Umuziwabantu, despite their “irreparable” fallout in eThekwini.

“As far as the ABC is concerned, every municipality has different dynamics and different relationships among people,” he said. “In Umvoti we haven't finalised anything with anyone. That's why we're talking to the ANC and the IFP. As of late yesterday [Wednesday], until the afternoon, I was talking to the both.”

Asked if he would raise his hand for the position if given a chance, Mavundla said: “For me as a rate payer in Umvoti, if there's anyone that can best do the job I will have to support that person — even if that is myself.”

TimesLIVE

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