Durban — Former eThekwini deputy mayor Philani Mavundla says he has no intention to quit and will remain in the eThekwini Municipality to strengthen the opposition.
Mavundla formed a political party, the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) and then a coalition with other smaller parties in the municipality after his success in the November 2021 local government elections. The coalition kept the ANC in power in eThekwini.
Recently, Mavundla allegedly held a vigorous campaign to seize power from the ANC in the city, but it came to an abrupt halt on Friday when his new coalition lost its bid to oust the ANC through a motion of no confidence in mayor Mxolisi Kaunda.
The new coalition, which included the DA, IFP, ActionSA, also failed to grab the deputy mayor and chief whip positions. Mavundla’s defeat left people questioning what would be his next move, with some suggesting he would resign and focus on his businesses.
Speaking to the Daily News on Monday, Mavundla laughed off rumours that he would quit. “I’m going nowhere. I would stay and ensure that the opposition is strong. I want to continue with my project I have started.”
In the deputy mayor position is NFP councillor Zandile Myeni – also a leader of the smaller parties bloc – who defeated the IFP’s Mdu Nkosi with 128 to 87 votes. The chief whip position went to ANC councillor Patience Sishange, beating Active Citizens Coalition leader Imitiaz Syed. The difference between Myeni and Nkosi’s votes meant that Mavundla’s campaign was thwarted by the EFF’s new coalition with the ANC. With its 94 seats and EFF’s 24, as well as a couple of smaller parties, which included the ANC bloc, comfortably cemented its grip on the city.
Soon after his unceremonious ousting last month, Mavundla put up a strong campaign, accusing the ruling party of allowing the decay in the city’s infrastructure. He had specifically targeted Mxolisi Kaunda for failing to maintain the infrastructure, especially wastewater works. Mavundla attracted more views and comments on his Facebook page, which was live streaming his visits to broken sewage pipes and ageing wastewater plants. Mavundla also revealed that Kaunda and the ANC sat a report that found 17 out of 27 wastewater plants had slid into total failure. Of the 27 plants, Mavundla revealed that 24 had no licence to operate.
He also questioned the silence of ANC top leaders who persuaded him to assist the party to retain power, saying none had called after he was removed.
It was widely known that Mavundla was approached by former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, former president Jacob Zuma and a former ANC secretary-general, among others, to rescue the party from the humiliation of losing the only metro in the province.
He had written to the ANC provincial and national leaders asking to rein in the regional leaders, but none of them responded to him.
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