THE Ugu District Municipality has suffered a double blow with two top officials dying days apart.
When Phumlile Mthiyane, mayor of the KZN municipality, started mourning the death of municipal manager Elliot Ntombela, little did she know she would follow him two days later.
The news of Mthiyane’s death was broken on Monday, 16 January but the cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
She died a day after sending condolences to the family of Ntombela, who died on Saturday, 14 January, after a short illness.
Announcing the mayor’s death, municipal spokesman France Zama said: “A dark cloud seems to have fallen upon our municipality. We request your thoughts and prayers.”
Zama said funeral details would be shared at a later stage.
Speaking about Ntombela, the late mayor said he played a critical role in the administration of the municipality.
KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sihle Zikalala said Ntombela’s death left a gaping hole in local governance.
“As a dedicated servant, Ntombela went beyond the call of duty when fulfilling the tasks that were bestowed upon him as a result of his position,” he said.
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Zikalala said as they mourned his death, they were certain the work he started in the district would be a solid foundation for the ongoing job of stabilising the municipality.
Commenting about the shocking news of the passing of Mthiyane, Zikalala said they had lost a gentle giant in the sphere of local government who took on the task of stabilising the supply of water for residents within the district.
“Within a very short period of time following her appointment as mayor, we saw progress on key projects meant to improve water supply.
“This bears testimony to her ability to bring people together in the pursuit of a common goal,” he said.
Zikalala said the people of Ugu did not just lose a great politician, but they lost a bridge-builder, peacemaker and passionate activist who put the interests of the people of Ugu first.
