IT is imperative to note that while more attention is given to the Mayor’s Office as the political head of any municipality, there is another office whose function is as equally important, and that is the Speaker’s Office.
That is the sentiment expressed by the City of uMhlathuze Speaker, Cllr Mvuseni Samuel Mnqayi.
The 50-year-old Mnqayi, born and bred in Mpembeni, at KwaDube Traditional Authority, is from a family of 10 siblings, and has always been involved in the community.
A nurse by profession, Mnqayi is armed with a Diploma in General Nursing, Midwifery, Psychiatric Nursing, Community Health Nursing and Nursing Management and has worked in Ngwelezane Hospital, servicing local clinics in Ngwelezane, Nseleni, Yanguye, Dlangezwa, Ntambanana, Macekane, Ndlangubo and eSikhaleni. He has also worked for Empangeni Correctional Services.
Apart from being a member of the ANC, Mnqayi is also a unionist, and has served as a member of NEHAWU and Popcru respectively, and is the the chairman of the SACP in the Riot ‘Makomanisi’ Mkhwanazi District.
He was first elected as the Ward 27 Councillor for the City of uMhlathuze in 2006, and in 2011 the ANC deployed him to the Office of the Speaker, the position he still holds to date.
The Zululand Observer spoke to him in an exclusive interview about the importance and the functions of the Office of the Speaker in the City of uMhlathuze.
ZO: Were you surprised by your election to the Office of the Speaker, which in my view, came too soon?
Mnqayi: Well you are correct, in saying it came too soon. As you know, I came into this Office after only serving one term as a Councillor, but then that’s how the ANC operates. In fact, I’m humbled and grateful to the ANC for mandating me with this task. I know that there are many other capable leaders who might have been considered.
ZO: What exactly do you do here?
Mnqayi: Firstly, I’m a Councillor myself, but mainly I’m responsible for the operation of council, including monitoring public participation programmes. I also chair council meetings, where final decisions or resolutions are taken. I have to ensure the effectiveness of Committees of Council. We have various Committees like Community Services and Health, a Corporate Services Committee, Infrastructure and Technical Services Committee, City Development Committee, Finance Committee and many others. Their formations is multiparty. They comprise political parties like the ANC, as the Leader in the municipality, there is the IFP which is the official opposition, the DA and the NFP.
These committees discuss issues affecting our people and make recommendations to Exco, then Exco take these matters to council for final resolutions to be taken.
ZO: In most municipalities there are visible tensions between amakhosi and democratically elected Councillors about who has the final word. How rife is that problem here at uMhlathuze?
Mnqayi: We don’t have it at all. What I did when I came into this Office, I embarked on a programme of introducing all our Councillors to our traditional authorities, so that they know who these Councillors are. We also instructed our Councillors to report back to amakhosi for any projects taking place in the rural areas.
ZO: How do you ensure that amakhosi are always in the know of what is happening in council meetings, since they don’t even sit there?
Mnqayi: We do have representation from traditional authorities at our council meetings. Inkosi Mandla Mkhwanazi for instance, is one leader who has never missed a single council meeting. The door is always open for them to attend our meetings. Besides, in terms of section 81 of the Municipal Structures Act, all traditional authorities may participate through their leaders identified in term of subsection 2 in the proceedings of council. They must be allowed to attend and participate in any meeting of the council, but they don’t have voting powers.
ZO: How about the public attendance?
Mnqayi: The public only show enthusiasm in the first council meetings, after that you see their numbers dwindling.
ZO: Is that why you started a programme of Taking Council to the Community?
Mnqayi: Yes, and this was a council resolution. The motivation came from the reality that the council belongs to the people and, therefore, people must know how council conducts its business and also to understand the challenges. This is our commitment towards service delivery and fostering a partnership with the community. Our aim is to encourage healthy community relations. We started this programme in 2012 at eSikhaleni, and the following year we were at Nseleni, and this year we went to KwaMadlebe. So far It has proved to be a success and effective. When we go to our people, we also invite other government departments to render their services there, like the Department of Health, Home Affairs and Sassa, to name but a few.
ZO: How is the Councillors’ attendance in council meetings?
Mnqayi: All our 60 Councillors, including the Municipal Manager with Senior officials do attend our council meetings. But apologies are made if one or two Councillors fail to attend, as you know that many of them are part time.
ZO: What happens if a particular Councillor has missed out on four meetings?
Mnqayi: If a Councillor has not been attending without an apology on three consecutive meetings of a Committee, disciplinary measures are taken and, if found guilty, that Councillor is expelled, and a report is submitted to the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, who will take a final decision on the matter. We have not reached that stage here at uMhlathuze.
ZO: We have received claims that some Councillors have become cold and aloof, in fact the public have to beg them for the issuing of ‘proof of residence’ letters. Has that come to your attention?
Mnqayi: We have not received such complaints, but we wish to apologise in advance to those who had difficulties in getting these letters from our Ward Councillors. This is a community service. People do not need to beg Councillors for that. We gave them powers to issue these letters so as to foster cooperation between them and their community. However, we have also learnt that some members of the public only demand these letters for fraudulent activities.
