Mayor demands IFP’s Ntuli retracts comments made at rally

Days away from the elections, political parties have pulled out all the stops, the gloves are off and they are going for the jugular.

eThekwini Municipality Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has sent a letter of demand to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) provincial chairperson, Thami Ntuli and the IFP to publicly retract the “baseless remarks” Mr Ntuli made about him when he was addressing an IFP rally in Umlazi on Sunday, May 19.

Speaking to his party supporters at King Zwelithini Stadium, Mr Ntuli said that when the IFP wins the elections in the province, they will disband the eThekwini Municipality so that the “corrupt Mayor and his colleagues”, “…lemeya enenkohlakalo nozakwabo” (can vacate the office).

Mr Ntuli was contacted for comment but did not respond.

These comments were allegedly made publicly, in the presence of thousands of IFP supporters and the media and they have received extensive media coverage, said mayoral spokesperson, Mluleki Mntungwa.

“These comments are untrue, baseless and unwarranted. We are of the view that they are causing reputational damage to both the mayor and the municipality. If Ntuli has knowledge of malfeasance on the part of the mayor and/or any of his colleagues, the law behoves him to report such to the law enforcement authorities, and his failure to do so may constitute a statutory criminal offence. The mayor demands that Ntuli reports the alleged “nkohlakalo” (malfeasance) to the law enforcement authorities or make a public retraction of the allegations within seven calendar days from Tuesday (May 21),” said Mr Mntungwa.

Failure to do either, within the stipulated time, will lead to further legal steps against both Mr Ntuli and the IFP, added Mr Mntungwa.

He said while they understand that this is an election season, they urge the IFP to garner votes in a responsible manner and to stop spreading lies and misinformation.

Mr Mntungwa said they remain fully committed to fighting all forms of corruption and malfeasance in the city.

“We want to make it clear that the eThekwini Municipality is functional and financially sustainable according to the latest Auditor-General’s report which gave us an unqualified audit opinion. Furthermore, the recent labour force survey by Statistics South Africa, indicates that eThekwini is the only municipality in the country that has recorded an increase in employment during the first quarter of 2024,” said Mr Mntungwa. “Lastly, the 2024 Governance Performance Index Report states that eThekwini Municipality, is ranked number 3 out of 8 metros in terms of good governance.”