Johannesburg - Danny Jordaan will not relinquish the presidency of the South African Football Association (Safa) - despite his appointment as Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality mayor.
He is insistent that there are neither legal nor constitutional bars from his assuming the dual roles - despite complaints by opposition political parties that there is a conflict of interest.
“No, there’s no conflict and let’s not make as if there is. There’s no contradiction in the two positions,” Jordaan told The Star on Tuesday.
He admitted, though, that he would have to do a tough balancing act serving in the two roles.
“Nothing overwhelms me. You will still see the same commitment. It’s a sound management and balancing (act, but) operationally on a day-to-day, it’s not my work. Mine is to advise and supervise.”
On Monday, the ANC unveiled Jordaan as mayor, the third executive mayor since the ANC retained the metro in the 2011 local government elections, in what political analysts believe is a bid to thwart the attempts by opposition parties, notably the DA, to wrest the metro from the ANC next year.
Jordaan, who served as an ANC MP between 1994 and 1997, is undeterred.
“You see, in Safa, there are those permanent, employed staff and there are the voluntary, non-paid contributing officials. I am a voluntary, unpaid elected official.
“So you must draw a distinction and there is no contradiction or conflict between those two positions,” he said, detailing a list of local and foreign high-ranking officials playing dual roles.
“(Former Safa vice-president, Chief Mwelo) Nonkonyana was an MP of the ANC for years. The executive member of Fifa is the minister of sport of Russia. The king of Malaysia was an executive member of Fifa. The royal Prince of Jordan is a Fifa executive member.”
Safa spokesman Dominic Chimhavi was adamant on Tuesday that Jordaan does not receive any payment from the organisation.
“He holds a non-executive position, which doesn’t come with any remuneration. It’s an unpaid position and he (Danny) has never even received a single allowance from Safa, he has never received a single cent from this organisation,” Chimhavi said.
Jordaan’s appointment makes him the third mayor in the past four years of a municipality beset by factionalism, infighting and political instability, admitted as much by the ANC when it announced Jordaan’s appointment.
The strife has impacted service delivery and affected the ANC’s performance in the polls, winning only 51.9 percent of the vote in 2011 - down from 66.5 percent in 2006.
Jordaan admits that he has his work cut out, restoring stability and public confidence.
He believes, however, that his proven credentials as an administrator will enable him to succeed.
He warns, though, that he will not pander to factional interests. Instead, his approach will be people-orientated.
“I am the mayor of Nelson Mandela, and not the mayor of a faction. It means I am a mayor of the city - and to the people - and whether you are this side or that side, all of us must work together.”
Although an ANC deployed cadre, the former chief executive of the 2010 World Cup local organising committee appeared to espouse the view of rising above party politics.
“I think we must turn the fortunes in favour of the people, first and foremost.
“It can be about the party, but the party must serve the people,” Jordaan said.
“Of course, it is a daunting task, but I don’t want to make an assessment based on a superficial basis. I want to get detailed, precise and accurate information,” he says.
Political analysts have mooted that Jordaan’s appointment could be an indicator that the ANC has gone into panic mode at the prospect of losing the metro in the local government elections next year.
Jordaan denied this.
“I am not going there focusing on the election.
“Again, I am focusing on the problems at hand.
“For now, this is the immediate short-term task. You don’t worry about the long-term, when you have a short and immediate project that you must focus on.”
He repeated this later, in a media briefing.
“I remain clear, I am committed to South African football…”
The Star