Impendle mayor and speaker remain in office despite ANC suspension decision

In the quiet hills outside Pietermaritzburg, a political standoff is unfolding inside the Impendle Local Municipality.

Two weeks after being suspended by the ANC’s provincial leadership, Impendle Local Municipality Mayor Kho Dlamini and Speaker Zibuse Dlamini are still reporting for duty. According to them, it is business as usual.

Yet, for the governing party, it is anything but.

A council vote that embarrassed the party

The drama began on 6 February when Impendle’s council gathered to elect a new mayor. The ANC’s provincial leadership had backed Nokulunga Ndlovu for the position, and party leadership watched proceedings from the gallery.

Instead, councillors elected Kho Dlamini as mayor and Zibuse Dlamini as Speaker.

The decision was a public setback for the ANC’s provincial leadership. They were immediately suspended for allegedly bringing the party into disrepute.

But the story did not end there.

“We are at work”

On Monday, chief whip Thabani Makhaye made it clear that the suspended councillors do not recognise the suspension in practical terms.

Speaking from his office, Makhaye said he and his colleagues had not received formal suspension letters and had only seen statements in the media. As far as they are concerned, they remain elected office bearers and continue to perform their duties.

The ANC’s Moses Mabhida regional coordinator, Zet Luzipo, disputes that version. He maintains that the councillors were served with suspension letters through acceptable channels and are acting in defiance. From the party’s perspective, they are no longer operating on behalf of the ANC.

A municipality stuck in a political tug-of-war

Impendle has been without a stable mayor since July last year, when former mayor Buyisani Mlaba was removed through a vote of no confidence. The motion was brought by the EFF and supported by ANC councillors, with Mlaba abstaining.

Since then, several attempts by the ANC’s provincial leadership to install a new mayor have failed.

At the heart of the impasse was whether the party could bring in a candidate from outside the council. Most ANC councillors in Impendle are ward councillors. For an outsider to be accommodated, Speaker Sizwe Ndlela would have had to resign. He initially refused, stalling the process.

Ndlela eventually stepped down, clearing the way for Ndlovu to be sworn in as a councillor. But when the time came to vote for mayor, councillors chose differently.

In the 10-seat ANC-controlled municipality, every vote carries weight. Internal party disagreements have spilled into the council chamber.

Recognition from Cogta

Despite the ANC’s suspension decision, the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department in KwaZulu-Natal, led by MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi of the IFP, recognises the election of the Dlaminis.

That recognition adds another layer to an already complex situation. While the party disciplines its members, the provincial department acknowledges the council’s decision.

For now, Impendle’s mayor and speaker remain at their desks. The ANC says they are suspended. The councillors say they are working.