Durban - The Federation For Radical Economic Transformation (FFRET) has threatened eThekwini Municipality and the regional ANC, calling for them to fire city treasurer Krish Kumar within 21 days or face losing 1 million votes.
The federation is claiming Kumar “suppressed small black-owned businesses and deliberately delayed payment” to them.
Kumar denied any wrongdoing and the ANC said it did not receive the complaint and that the federation, or anyone with a grievance, should follow the proper channels.
“It seems he’s (Kumar) above his political principals. Many people are doing work for the city and Kumar decides to delay payment. It would seem as if he is saying ‘give them work and we’ll see where they’ll get their payment’,” secretary general Robert Ndlela alleged.
“Krish and his friends are messing up things for small (black) businesses, so we are saying the ANC has a serious decision to make. It’s either Krish or the 1 million voters they stand to lose in eThekwini.
“He (Kumar) seems to be confusing the municipal bank account as his own.”
Ndlela said the federation commended the eThekwini leadership for its commitment to radical economic transformation, but were “agitated by some arrogant officials who continue to undermine this noble agenda”.
“Since 2018, we have been calling for the removal of Krish Kumar. We are now saying enough is enough. The leadership of eThekwini Municipality must assist Krish to leave the municipality. We give the city 21 days (from last Wednesday) to act, failing which we will act,” Ndlela said.
The municipality did not comment at the time of publication despite a query being sent on Tuesday.
Kumar said this was not the first time the federation had made such a threat. He said there had never been a formal meeting between the federation, the city and the political head on any allegations levelled against him.
Kumar said the Radical Economic Transformation Framework, which was launched by mayor Zandile Gumede in 2017, followed a “structured” process.
The ANC eThekwini region also said there was never any formal communication between the stakeholders about the issues raised by FFRET.