Durban — The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the resignation of Umdoni municipal manager Thabisile Ndlela, saying it was long overdue.
According to Edwin Baptie, the DA’s constituency head in the Ugu region, Ndlela had given a month’s notice with her last day being October 24, 2024.
Ndela’s resignation comes on the back of a series of protests by municipal workers and ratepayers associations. They alleged that Ndlela was failing in her duties as the municipal manager.
Baptie claimed that the resignation came amid much controversy around Ndlela which resulted in the DA laying charges of misconduct and dereliction of duty against her and Mayor Mbali Cele-Luthuli.
“Ndlela had also been involved in a court battle with the DA. When she had unlawfully tried to expropriate an executive council seat belonging to the party. In January 2024, the Durban High Court ruled in favour of the DA,” Baptie said.
The DA alleged that services had collapsed in the ANC-controlled municipality, leading to the intervention by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi.
“The collapse of services, the systematic neglect of public infrastructure and the maladministration of the institution led to inevitable protests from a variety of stakeholders. This led to the closure of Umdoni without any reasonable attempts by the political leadership or senior management to deal with the collapse they had engineered,” said Baptie.
He added: “Their contempt for ratepayers and residents, their abuse of resources for political expediency and a belief that their control was absolute, allowed a governance style best described as abusive and reckless.”
Ndlela’s resignation, he said, marked the beginning of the end of a long reign of “destruction under the ANC.”
“The DA is fully committed to exposing the rot in Umdoni, pursuing those responsible for losses and neglect, and restoring good governance in an area that has always held promise for the people who live in it.”
In her letter of resignation, Ndlela wrote: “Thank you for the support during my stay at the municipality.”
Ndlela could not be reached for comment.
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