 councillors in eThekwini have allegedly said that national laws and municipal bylaws should be suspended over the festive season to allow people to “have a good time”. ){kind=link}
Staff Reporter
Two senior African National Congress (ANC) councillors in eThekwini have allegedly said that national laws and municipal bylaws should be suspended over the festive season to allow people to “have a good time”.
According to the Democratic Alliance in eThekwini, the alleged comments were made during a recent meeting of the city’s executive committee.
Councillor Nkosenhle Madlala, chairperson of the Governance and Human Capital Committee and a former acting mayor, allegedly said that the KwaZulu-Natal department of transport and human settlement’s anti-drunk driving operations “dampen” festivities and may deter visitors.
Councillor Thembo Ntuli, chairperson of the Economic Development and Planning Committee and ANC regional deputy chairperson, allegedly “questioned the relevance of trading hours and noise control bylaws during the festive season,” the DA said.
Ntuli also allegedly suggested that the laws be relaxed or ignored to “stimulate tourism”, saying that many people only begin socialising late at night.
This, the DA said, “effectively encourages lawlessness, chaos, and disregard for community wellbeing”.
The alleged comments come as ANC KwaZulu-Natal deputy convenor, Siboniso Duma, who is also the province’s transport and human settlements MEC, has been conducting crackdowns on illegal, unsafe and drunk driving prior to the festive season – always a time of increased fatal road accidents, provincially and nationally.
“The DA’s EXCO representatives strongly rejected these reckless suggestions, reminding the committee that bylaws exist to protect all residents including workers and families from excessive noise, alcohol-fuelled disturbances, and unsafe conditions that typically escalate during the festive season,” the party said.
“[L]eaders who create and endorse bylaws have a duty to uphold them, not promote their abandonment.”
Spokesperson for the department of transport and Human Settlements, Ndabe Sibiya, told Inside Metros: “We prefer not to comment at this stage.”
INSIDE METROS