DA tables motion to make eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede's suspension permanent

The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has reiterated its call for government to remove embattled eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede from its ranks. 

DA KZN spokesperson on co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta), Mbali Ntuli, said she had tabled a motion in the legislature on Tuesday requesting Premier Sihle Zikalala to make Gumede's leave of absence a permanent one.

"It is clear to us that whilst Gumede is not the only ANC problem in that council, she is by far currently the biggest stumbling block to the functioning of that council."

Ntuli said Zikalala must put aside his factional alliance with Gumede and do what he is ethically obligated to do and restore stability to eThekwini.

"I have also written to the MEC of Cogta in the province urging him to put eThekwini under administration using section 139, given that the city manager and several senior leaders in the administration, as well as 62 ANC councillors, have been implicated in a wide range of fraud and corruption allegations," she said. 

On Monday ANC provincial spokesperson Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said come Wednesday a decision will be made public on whether Gumede would resume office. 

Simelane-Zulu said Gumede's bail conditions and whether they would allow her to effectively do her job as mayor would weigh heavily on the party's decision to have her reinstated. 

Gumede appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in May on fraud-related charges in connection with a R208m solid-waste tender in the city. She is out on R50,000 bail.