A Motherwell ward councillor has been ordered by the Port Elizabeth High Court to stop meddling in the affairs of the ward 58 business forum and the allocation of projects to small businesses.
ANC councillor Mendiswa Makunga was accused of interfering in the decision on which SMMEs should be allocated work to erect fences and construct sports fields.
The forum listed Makunga as the first respondent, with the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality as the second.
Makunga did not arrive at court, nor did she send a lawyer to represent her.
Acting judge Johann Huisamen ordered on Friday that Makunga be interdicted from interfering in the business of the ward 58 business forum.
She was also told to retract letters sent to contractors that are adverse toward the forum.
“The [municipality’s] directorate of constituency services in conjunction with the ward committee for ward 58 must, with immediate effect, facilitate the equitable distribution of work among small businesses in ward 58 in respect of projects in that ward,” Huisamen ordered.
Nomakhwezi Ndabambi, 52, who was recently replaced as chair of the forum, said: “Everything was running well, the SMMEs were taking turns to benefit from the projects in the wards.
“The problem started after the meeting chaired by [Makunga] with various stakeholders including ANC veterans, Sanco and the ward committee as well as concerned members of the forum, where Makunga eliminated executive members of the forum because some SMMEs registered their business as a nonprofit organisation whilst under the business forum.”
She said Makunga had never given them a chance to explain the role of the NPO, instead saying that NPO-registered businesses could not be members of the forum.
She then disbanded the committee and elected a task team that presided over the election of a new executive committee.
This led to a clash between the disbanded executive and the members of the task team, which meant that the sports field project at Vezubuhle Primary School in Motherwell was in limbo as SMMEs were fighting over who should work on the project.
Principal Nonzwakazi Magxaki said: “We are very disappointed as teachers and parents because we asked Lotto for funds to build our children a sports field but now no work has been done because of fights we have nothing to do with.”
Governing body chair Zukiswa Caku, 45, said that they had advised the two forums to work together.
“Their fights are now affecting the school, the sponsor wants a report-back for the sports field and we have not started,” she said.
Makunga has not responded to requests for comment.
ANC chief whip of council Bicks Ndoni said they had no choice but to comply with the court order.
“We have also advised the ward 58 councillor not to do anything against the court order and we are meeting to discuss it.
Xolisa Pama, secretary of the rival forum structure, said: “The ruling was made in the absence of the ward councillor and we distance ourselves from it.”
He said his forum would hold a meeting to discuss a way forward.