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The IFP in the KZN Legislature, as the Official Opposition, calls upon the KZN MEC for CoGTA, Bongi Sithole-Moloi, and KZN Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, to provide answers about the whereabouts of Section 154 experts in eThekwini Metro, led by Dr. Cassius Lubisi.

The IFP is keen to know whether the Section 154 intervention in eThekwini has commenced its work or not. We were led to believe by MEC Sithole-Moloi last year that the team would be paid R4.5m and will have 12 months to tackle the challenges plaguing the city. For far too long, we have been kept in the dark about this matter.

It is incumbent upon MEC Sithole-Moloi to shed light on the following:

1. Has the Section 154 experts in eThekwini commenced their work? If yes, what are the relevant details? If not, why not?
2. Who is responsible for footing the bill for Section 154 intervention experts in eThekwini?
3. Where is the R4.5 million that was to be paid to the Section 154 experts in eThekwini?
4. Why has eThekwini Metro not been placed under Section 139 although it has failed dismally to provide services to the people?
5. When was the last time the MEC held a meeting with eThekwini Metro councillors regarding the implementation of Section 154 intervention? All these questions must be answered by the MEC as the political head of the department.

We also take umbrage at the deafening silence by the KZN Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, on this issue. 
On numerous occasions since SOPA, we have observed that the Premier has succumbed to temptation and joined the bandwagon and the orchestrated plot of discrediting the IFP ahead of the crucial 29 May General Elections instead of reading a riot act against her incompetent Provincial Cabinet MECs and dysfunctional ANC-led municipalities. 

We are not surprised if Premier Dube-Ncube is turning a blind eye to the ANC's incompetence and shenanigans because she has failed to provide good leadership in her office, which has become a fertile ground for corruption. 

The last nail in the coffin was when President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate corruption in the Premier's office. Premier Dube-Ncube and the ANC have failed to run the KZN Provincial Government.

Service delivery in eThekwini has ground to a halt under Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, who has proven many times that he is incompetent, clueless, and lacks leadership skills, but he is being protected by the ANC. 

The IFP still maintains that the Section 154 intervention is a watered-down version of the kind of action that was needed at the metro. 

The invocation of Section 139 of the Constitution of our country for eThekwini was long overdue because of the failure by eThekwini Municipality to fulfil its responsibility to the electorate and ratepayers of eThekwini. 

The floods that engulfed eThekwini in 2022 put this Municipality to the test in terms of its ability to respond on time to the devastating effects of that disaster. 

The infrastructure that got damaged and the displacement of vulnerable communities following this disaster tested the ability of eThekwini Municipality to respond adequately, and this Municipality was found wanting in this regard. 


Issued by IFP Leader of the Official Opposition in the KZN Legislature Blessed Gwala