PHUTI MOSOMANE
AFRICAN Independent Congress (AIC)’s councillor Sivuyile Ngodwana has been elected as the new mayor of Ekurhuleni.
Ngodwana is a member of the AIC, and his candidacy for mayoral position was supported by both the ANC and the EFF.
A total of 204 councillors participated in the election for the mayor’s position, out of which 129 voted in support of Ngodwana, while 75 voted for Tania Campbell, the DA candidate who had previously been ousted in a motion of no confidence.
Shortly after his election, Ngodwana stated that the residents of the city have lost trust in politicians. He added that the coalition would work towards regaining that trust and appealed for time to allow the new leadership to settle in.
Earlier, Thembi Nkosi Nciza, the Gauteng Secretary of the ANC, stated that the party could not allow the DA-led multiparty coalition to continue governing Ekurhuleni.
Nciza highlighted that the service delivery in the city has deteriorated to worrying levels.
The ANC said the financial constraints that the City of Ekurhuleni is presently facing are a direct product of the collapse of governance under the DA-led multiparty government which approved the 2022/23 IDP/Budget that fails dismally to respond to the priority needs of communities in Ekurhuleni.
The said budget was finalised without any evaluation and considerable incorporation of the views of the public – a demonstration of complete disregard for constitutionality in which public participation is central.
“Over the past few weeks, the DA-led multiparty government has introduced austerity measures in the City of Ekurhuleni, under the guise of stabilising the municipality’s finances. In reality, the finances of the municipality are in shambles following months of mismanagement,” Nciza said.
The ANC said the the DA-led multiparty government inherited a municipality that was financially viable and one that had important projects in the pipeline to generate billions of rands in revenue.
Nciza said the removal of Campbell on Thursday marked the beginning of the re-strengthening of the City of Ekurhuleni and the Gauteng Province broadly.
INSIDE POLITICS