Former Chris Hani District Municipality council chief whip Bongiwe van Heerden was elected unopposed as the new Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality council speaker at a special council meeting on Thursday.
Van Heerden’s election comes after acting speaker Nkululeko Ngcefe resigned on Thursday, in a position he held for seven days after the resignation of former speaker Mzoxolo Peter who now heads the integrated planning and economic development portfolio.
Councilors had mixed reactions on the election of Van Heerden with DA councilor Sakhumzi Mkhunqe saying the municipality has been changing speakers on daily basis while the community is in need of service delivery.
“There are problems of water, electricity and bad roads in Ezibeleni, yet we are changing speakers instead of focusing on service delivery. This needs a prayer maybe we need to call on local churches to pray for this municipality,” he said...