THE City of Ekurhuleni council meeting convened to elect a new mayor was postponed on Wednesday after a collapse in negotiations between the EFF and ANC.
Earlier the ANC asked for a caucus break to meet with the EFF as deliberations continued.
The EFF have arrived at Ekurhuleni council where a new mayor will be elected this morning. Negotiations between the ANC and EFF last night resulted in an agreement that Nkululeko Dunga will be fielded as the new mayor.
— Scrolla Africa (@ScrollaAfrica) November 2, 2022
DA mayor Tania Campbell was ousted last week.#Ekurhuleni #DA pic.twitter.com/5tzZLhgj2M
This after the two parties failed to agree on the appointment of EFF Gauteng chairperson and caucus leader in Ekurhuleni, Nkululeko Dunga, as mayor.
The DA backed the re-election of Tania Campbell, while the ANC planned to return the mayoral chain to former Mayor Mzwandile Masina.
But Masina said he would not be contesting for any position in council.
Masina said after serving as mayor for a full term, it was time to open the way for another leader.
“Firstly, I served the past five years as executive mayor, full term. The African National Congress gave me an opportunity to stand for the second term and unfortunately, I lost. Since then, I have not stood, I am not standing, and I have not made myself available for any position,” said Masina.
“We are hoping that the African National Congress will come out very strong here, there is a debt of leadership in the ANC, we’re giving young leaders a chance to give it a shot and even the ANC wins here.”
DA provincial leader Solly Msimanga said the ANC infighting and the EFF’s flip-flopping in Ekurhuleni has left the Council in limbo and set service delivery back once again.
“The council meeting was postponed after the ANC could not get enough of its caucus to agree to vote for an EFF mayor. While this squabble was going on, ActionSA which has been working hard to bring the EFF on board in Ekurhuleni were again left in limbo after they turned their backs on the DA but didn’t get what they hoped for from their new ANC and EFF friends,” said Msimanga.
“The cost to the residents of the Metro is terms of money spent on a council meeting where the ANC/EFF couldn’t agree on who to propose as mayor as well as the time wasted that could have been spent on dealing with critical issues that the residents want addressed, is yet another example of why neither the ANC or the EFF should be trusted with the reins of government.”
The ANC and EFF in the Ekurhuleni council singing struggle songs together. This is the first time since council sat where the mood has lifted a bit. #EkurhuleniCouncil pic.twitter.com/xRm0Xrxgk1
— Nomazima Nkosi (@Zima_B_Nkosi) November 2, 2022
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