Johnathan Paoli
THE City Council of Ekurhuleni has confirmed the election of the ANC’s Metropolitan Convener Nkosindiphile Xhakaza as the new Executive Mayor, following lengthy delays and the threat of the metro being placed under administration.
In an extraordinary council meeting on Thursday in Germiston, Xhakaza was elected unopposed, after the municipality had been without a Mayor for two weeks following the removal of African Independent Congress (AIC) councilor Sivuyile Ngodwana from office by means of a motion of no-confidence.
The Metro has been marred by ongoing political disagreements, leading to multiple postponements to vote for Ngodwana’s replacement.
Xhakaza was appointed last year by the ruling-party’s NEC as the Convener for Ekurhuleni, following his defeat against Mzwandile Masina for the position of Ekurhuleni regional chairperson.
He previously served as a council member in the municipality since 2011, including the MMC for Water, Sanitation and Energy; Finance, Economic Development and ICT; and until his appointment, was the MMC for Corporate andShared Services: Human Resources, Communications and Brand Management, Strategy, Risk, Legal and Internal Audit.
Xhakaza has over 7 years experience in the private sector, where he served as the Business Unit Controller at Siemens, and holds various qualifications including a National Diploma in Cost and Management Accounting and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management.
Part of the reason for the delay was to allow for Cooperative Governance (COGTA) MEC Mzi Khumalo to meet with council speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga and chief whip Jongiziwe Dlabathi, in which he warned both of the important need to “get their house in order”.
“Remember, we had already issued a directive that the meeting must go before 12 April, so we wanted to check if the council had acted in accordance with that,” he said.
Khumalo said a failure to elect a Mayor on Thursday could spell trouble for the council, threatening to intervene under Section 139 of COGTA regulations.
The ANC previously said as the party with the largest number of wards in the metro, it should provide the candidate for the mayor.
ANC Gauteng chairperson and premier Panyaza Lesufi said the delay was a result of difficult negotiations
“It took a long time, because we really put the interests of the municipality at heart. You can see with the outcome, we didn’t push party political interests, we consulted all the parties involved,” Lesufi said.
Lesufi thanked the EFF and other parties for coming together around this decision, and congratulated the new mayor and called on him to ensure that service delivery will be a reality within the municipality.
ANC Gauteng Provincial Secretary Thembinkosi Nciza expressed his optimism and support for the incoming Mayor.
“We have no doubt that comrade Xhakaza will turn things around at the municipality, anchoring his leadership on integrity, transparency, and a deep commitment to the pro-poor policies that have always defined the ANC government in the City of Ekurhuleni and beyond,” Nciza said.
ActionSA Ekurhuleni Caucus leader Siyanda Makhubo said that his party noted the election of Xhakaza as Executive Mayor and that after consulting with various political parties, including the DA, it became very clear that the party’s candidate would not garner enough support to win.
“To this end, ActionSA will continue to hold the impending government to account and will insist that the incoming Mayor must be competent enough to stabilise the finances of the city, implement the institutional review, and ensure that quality services are delivered to our residents,” Makhubo said.
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