By Sihle Mavuso
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal will return to the Durban High Court on Thursday in its bid to have the appointments of three senior eThekwini Municipality executives declared unlawful and set aside.
The party is challenging the appointments of Ednick Msweli as Executive Director for Water and Sanitation, Cyril Mkhize as Executive Director for Public Safety and Lindokuhle Mkhize as Executive Director for Operations Management.
The application was first heard on an urgent basis in December 2025, a month after the appointments were approved by the municipal council.
The matter was partially argued before being postponed to Thursday.
The DA argues that the appointments were procedurally flawed and that the officials did not meet the minimum qualifications and experience required for the positions.
In court papers, the party contends that Msweli’s appointment fails the rationality test because he previously headed the municipality’s water services division during a period in which Durban experienced a prolonged water crisis that continues to affect many communities.
The DA argues that officials responsible for the city’s deteriorating service delivery should be held accountable rather than promoted.
“Mr Msweli was appointed to the position of Executive Director: Technical Services without the council considering his suitability for the position. Mr Msweli is currently Head of Water Services in the Municipality. The Auditor-General (AG) has repeatedly found that the Department of Water Services has failed to meet three of its most important targets: water loss reduction, the provision of basic water services and the provision of water to indigent households,” the DA states in its court papers.
The party further alleges that the Auditor-General found the department had a vacancy rate of 58% under Msweli’s leadership, contributing to poor performance and the collapse of service delivery.
“The Auditor-General has also concluded that the vacancy rate in Mr Msweli’s department is 58%, contributing to its failure to meet performance targets and assessments. And critically, the Auditor-General found that there have been serious failings within the department, resulting in poor service delivery,” the DA argues.
The party says the council ignored those findings when approving Msweli’s appointment.
The DA also challenges Cyril Mkhize’s appointment, alleging he did not possess the minimum qualifications required for the position of Executive Director for Public Safety.
“Mr Mkhize could only be appointed to the position of Executive Director: Public Safety if he had a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree or a bachelor’s degree in safety and security. There was no evidence before the council that he met the minimum qualification requirements when it took the appointment decision,” the DA argues.
The municipality is opposing the application and has filed answering papers. In an earlier statement, eThekwini said the legal challenge was without merit and that the appointments were lawfully made.
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