Durban - The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said it would be engaging with EFF leadership on the viability of their coalition in eThekwini after the red berets councillors attempted to prevent City manager Musa Mbhele from addressing council during a meeting on Tuesday.
The point of contention at the meeting was the accusation that Mbhele had failed to spend R1.9 billion of the Municipal Disaster Management Grant (MDRG) and that National Treasury had reduced the grant to R720 million.
In video footage being circulated online, EFF councillors could be seen tussling with City security officials.
The EFF in the province responded, saying it condemned the violence against its councillors who were demanding an explanation on why the grants had not been spent.
ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo, during a media briefing yesterday, condemned the actions of EFF councillors, saying it was untrue that the grant money had been forfeited. He gave the MDRG amount as R1.53bn and said it was only received in March this year and that the spend deadline was in June, when the financial year ended.
“It was simply impractical and unreasonable to expect these projects to be complete in 2022/2023. It was impossible to spend R1.5bn in three months considering the processes to be completed,” Mtolo said.
He said the party was not afraid for their working relationship with the EFF in the province, saying both were independent parties and it was a given there would be disagreements.
“They are now behaving as if they are a helpless opposition party. Yet in reality, they are a major player in the eThekwini Municipality.”
Mtolo said Themba Mvubu, who is the EFF regional chairperson and chairs the City’s Human Settlements and Infrastructure Services Committee, oversaw a R43bn budget, an asset portfolio of R143bn and was in charge of 8 000 city employees.
“He should have said to the mayor that this money has not been spent, can you intervene at Executive Committee level, but he has not done this. They are no longer in the opposition in eThekwini, they are part of the government and now in charge,” Mtolo said.
On EFF calls for Mbhele to be sacked, Mtolo said he had been made City manager in a unanimous decision and the EFF had backed the appointment.
“They said he had the capacity to do the job when they played a part in appointing him and now they do not want him. They have not told us how this capacity is lacking,” Mtolo said.
Speaker Thabani Nyawose has said he would investigate the conduct of the EFF councillors.
The EFF in the province in a statement said its councillors in eThekwini had consistently demanded “practical plans on how conditional grants will be spent”, saying the City had a record of failing to spend these grants when there was a desperate need for service delivery and infrastructure improvement.
“The conditional grants that have been reduced were meant for housing, stormwater and other social infrastructure.”
The party backed Mvubu, saying since his appointment he has taken on City officials who have failed to make progress on infrastructure spending.
“They know very well that failure to spend the money will result in it being returned to the National Treasury.”
The EFF said it would not be intimidated in the eThekwini council and “will continue to demand accountability”.