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SUSPENDED COUNCILLORS TAKE MINISTER TO COURT

10/12/2016 08:11:00 BY MBONGISENI NDZIMANDZE

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MBABANE – The suspended Ezulwini Town Board councillors have taken Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza to court over their suspension.

They want the court to review and set aside the minister’s decision to suspend them from exercising their duties as councillors. The councillors are further seeking an order declaring the minister’s decision to suspend them as unlawful and unconstitutional.
The suspended councillors are Busie Bhembe (chairperson of the council), Hlengizwe Ndzabukelwako (deputy chairperson and representing Ward Six), Sibusiso Mabuza (representing Ward One), Gwen Hadfield (representing Ward Two) and Nokuthula Mthembu (representing Ward Four)

Through their attorney, Mangaliso Magagula from Magagula & Hlophe Attorneys, the aggrieved five yesterday filed an urgent application in the High Court. The decision to suspend the councillors was purportedly taken in terms of Section 107 of the Urban Government Act No.8 of 1968.

Giving a brief background of the matter, Mthembu (Nokuthula) who is the first applicant in the matter stated that on September 21, 2016 the minister summoned councillors of the Ezulwini Town Board to his office.
She pointed out that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss a letter, which had been written to the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ezulwini Town Board, Vusi Matsebula.

These are allegations contained in an affidavit whose veracity is still to be tested in court and the minister is yet to respond.

Intervene

Mthembu alleged that in the letter, the CEO was requesting the ministry to intervene in terms of Section 27 of the Act or take any measure the ministry deemed fit to resolve what the CEO termed as unconducive atmosphere at the Ezulwini Council. According to Mthembu, the councillors only became aware of the letter when it was published in one of the newspapers on August 15, 2016. She mentioned that following the publication of this letter in the newspaper, the council requested the CEO to convey a special meeting of council on September 22, 2016.

The special meeting was allegedly meant to review the contents of the letter he (CEO) had written to the ministry.
She submitted that the minister then summoned them to a meeting on September 21, 2016. Mthembu stated that in that meeting, the minister told them to go and work on the issues and bring back a report to him.