Durban – Threats of violence have delayed the election of ward committee members in ward 39, in the KwaMashu Township area, for the past 7 months.
Speaker of the eThekwini Municipality council Thabani Nyawose made the revelations while delivering a speaker's report recently on the progress that has been made in the election of ward committee members.
He revealed that all the city’s wards have held their elections except ward 39 where they have been warned that the situation in the ward is volatile and hosting such an election could result in a loss of lives.
Ward 39 was one of two wards that could not elect in March this year when the elections were held. It is now the only outstanding ward.
It was not immediately clear why there are threats against these elections. But the revelations are a source of concern as the local government sector in the province is besieged by the assassination of councillors.
Ward committee members are often elected to assist the council manage the ward, there is no big salary in these positions, at most, these members are paid a stipend.
Nyawose said the issue of the election in the ward has been raised by the department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in the province as an important compliance matter as the municipality is expected to have in place ward committees in all 111 wards.
“If I may explain to councillors briefly, this is ward 39 in KwaMashu, part of it is a hostel. That is where we are experiencing some problems and we have been advised by the police that the environment is not conducive for us to convene such a meeting because, according to their assessment and the report from the intelligence[received indicates that] if we gather so many people in one venue it would pose some threats to the lives of the people and the community.
“That is the reason we are working with the police to make sure and prepare the ward committee elections in ward 39,” said Nyawose.