One of the most iconic images reflecting the reign of eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, who will hang up his mayoral chain on Friday, must be of him frolicking in the surf at Durban's North Beach amid the city's E. coli crisis.
When Kaunda wrapped up his term of office on Thursday, after the ANC redeployed him to the National Council of Provinces, he listed a number of accomplishments.
These included unqualified audits and being one of the municipalities without debts to Eskom and uMngeni-Uthukela Water for bulk water services.
He said shortly after coming into office in 2019 the city was faced with severe floods which destroyed infrastructure, the Covid-19 pandemic and the July 2021 civil unrest, all of which hit the municipality hard. He said this forced the city to formulate a disaster management plan which was recently used after storms in the metro.
Kaunda said under his watch there was an injection of more than R200bn investment in catalytic projects.
However, arguably, most people will remember him for being at the head of the municipality when beaches were closed because of high E. coli levels from sewage spills, negatively affecting tourism.
Asked to reflect on Kaunda's term at office, many councillors and other stakeholders said they were happy to see him go.
“We’re elated. It couldn’t have been a better prayer answered [because] he’s a man of false promises who does not honour his word. We’re ecstatic he’s no longer in power to mislead and use good oratory to speak his way out while failing to deliver. His actions do not match his words,” said Asherville Residents Association and Civic Organisation president Imraan Bennett.
These sentiment were shared by eThekwini Ratepayers Association spokesperson Asad Gaffer.
“We have no regrets [because] he wasn’t someone you could work with. He wasn’t doing his job, the city was falling under his watch. There has been a number of votes of no confidence in him, and the only reason he survived is because of the majority in council,” said Gaffer.
The Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) said it was too early to say whether Kaunda’s ousting was a good call until his replacement is revealed.
“It’s difficult to give an accurate call until we know who is replacing him, but we’ve had substantial issues in Durban over the past few years with water treatment and the upkeep of the beach,” said Fedhasa East Coast chairperson Brett Tanguy.
We’re elated. It couldn’t have been a better prayer answered [because] he’s a man of false promises who does not honour his word.
— Asherville Residents Association and Civic Organisation president Imraan Bennett
Kaunda’s departure evoked little sympathy among fellow councillors, who said he was constantly in denial about the challenges facing the city.
“He used to sing a happy song as if everything was going well while the residents of eThekwini would tell something totally different in delivery of services. To him, having unqualified audits was more important than service delivery,” said the Abantu Batho Congress' Andile Phahla.
“He was quick to point out what they’d done right, which is little, and yet the numbers show the city is not doing well, if you can write off R3.7bn while the infrastructure is not fixed. That is the description of his leadership.”
The IFP’s Mduduzi Nkosi said: “Going forward he will have to learn to listen to other people’s voices because what really let him down was being in denial. If you told him things are not OK in eThekwini he would use the airtime he gets to dispute that. Meanwhile, everyone in the city was pointing out the rot and complaining about it, even the ratepayers who are contributing the most to the city’s coffers.”
The EFF, however, had sympathy for him, saying he was largely let down by municipal officials.
“As politicians, we just give a political direction and guidance to the officials, but it’s those officials who have the skills to quantify those projects, give time frames and implement them. No mayor can succeed if officials undermine him or take instructions from businesspeople or other factions of the ANC,” said EFF caucus leader Themba Mvubu.
Other parties raised concern the ANC’s redeployment pointed to a possible “interference” by national government in local affairs.
Active Citizens Coalition leader Imtiaz Syed told TimesLIVE Premium such decisions could be a hindrance to continuity in municipalities.
“It [his redeployment] may be a good thing or a bad thing, but it will leave the municipality without continuity. It reflects what is happening in municipalities with people moving around [to the province or national]. How sustainable is local government if there is national interference every time there is a national election? It doesn’t give us any sustainable five year plans in local government.”
Some believe Kaunda’s redeployment was part of the ANC’s concessions to the demands of parties joining the government of national unity, particularly the DA and IFP, who have repeatedly tried to oust Kaunda with repeated motions of no confidence.
“The DA proposed eThekwini must be disbanded, so in negotiations Kaunda became the scapegoat so the DA could justify working with the ANC to [appease] the city’s ratepayers who gave them a big chunk of their support in the province,” said ActionSA’s Zwakele Mncwango.
ABC's Phahla said the prospect of such speculation being true was a “terrifying” prospect for local government.
“We’re happy he is going, but if it’s a political decision that takes away the power of council then it becomes a bargaining chip for the ANC and the DA, which for us is a sad case.”
The DA’s Thabani Mthethwa could not confirm nor deny his party’s role in the ANC’s decision but said Kaunda’s removal was a welcome development.
“I’m not part of the negotiating team so I wouldn’t know about the engagements between the two parties, but we welcome his removal based on his performance as mayor in service delivery.”
The next eThekwini council meeting is on June 25.
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