In yet another shake up in municipalities that are beset by service delivery and water challenges, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has sacked the embattled mayor of Umzinyathi District Municipality.

Alderman Petros Ngubane was fired following a meeting about the challenges in his municipalities.

His position would be taken over by his deputy, Thembisile Mchunu, whose position would be filled at a later stage. 

“On Sunday, 02 March 2025 the IFP Top 7 Officials held a special meeting with the Mayor of uMzinyathi District Municipality, Cllr PMS Ngubane, to assess the service delivery situation in the District and realignment of targets and goals. After deliberations and due consideration the Officials unanimously recommended a need to change the leadership of Umzinyathi District Municipality.

“On Monday, 03 March 2025 the IFP NEC at its regular meeting unanimously resolved to accept the recommendation of the Officials with effect from the same date.The decision of the NEC has been duly communicated to Cllr Ngubane as on 03 March 2025,” the IFP said in a statement on Wednesday (March 5).

The district municipality is anchored in Dundee in northern KwaZulu-Natal and is made up of Nquthu, Endumeni (Dundee), Umvoti (Greytown) and Umsinga local municipalities. 

Like many in South Africa, Umzinyathi is facing decades long water challenges that recently spilled to once stable towns like Dundee and Greytown, forcing the constituency of the DA, a key coalition partner of the IFP in Endumeni to picket.

That is believed to have forced the IFP to act and remove Ngubane. Recently the IFP fired Prince Ndabuko Zulu as the Mayor of Amajuba district municipality after water challenges fermented discontent in Dannhauser.