DURBAN - A FACTION aligned to former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede will call for a regional conference immediately after the November local government elections.
The faction committed to campaigning for the ruling party’s victory in the local government elections, saying it did not want to see the metro falling into the hands of the opposition.
The faction, calling itself Unity and Continuity, has been vocal about the Proportional Representation (PR) list, which it said was not a true reflection of the sentiments from the eThekwini Region’s branches.
Their main contention has been the appearance of Thabani Nyawose at the top of the PR list, and not their preferred candidate Zamazulu Sokhabase, with many members accusing the provincial leadership of manipulating the list.
Spokesperson for the group Njabulo Mchunu said party branches met last week following the publishing of the councillors’ list.
“Sixty-three branches were represented at the meeting last week. Our attitude is that the provincial leadership has handled the matter of lists in an unsavoury fashion, and appears to have taken sides. That being said, we will campaign for our organisation because we do not want to see eThekwini falling into the hands of opposition parties,” said Mchunu.
He said that after the elections they would call for a regional conference to avoid creating a leadership vacuum.
“We are quite clear from our meeting with the branches that comrade Zandile Gumede still remains the branches’ choice for the position of regional chairperson,” he said.
Asked whether Gumede’s election to lead the region could create tensions between the ANC regional executive and the municipality, Mchunu said such a development would be managed, as had been the case before.
“Here in eThekwini we have had an experience where the regional chairperson is not a mayor. If you remember Bheki Cele has never been an eThekwini mayor, neither did the late John Mchunu nor Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo occupy the mayor’s office, but all were regional chairpersons,” Mchunu said.
Political analyst Makhosini Mgitywa said that the position of regional chairperson brought with it a lot of influence at local government level, especially regarding the appointments of municipal officials, and in some instances the awarding of lucrative municipal contracts. This, Mgitywa pointed out, was the reason the regional chairpersonship was a highly contested position in the governing party.
“That position effectively places the winning candidate on pole position for the position of mayor in that region. We have seen that in big metros such Pretoria and Ekurhuleni in Gauteng,” Mgitywa said.
The trend of regional chairpersons becoming metro mayors and provincial chairpersons becoming premiers was firmly entrenched during Jacob Zuma’s presidency. While the move appeared to diminish tensions between the ruling party’s political office and the public, Mgitywa said it had also blurred the lines between party and state, and also badly affected local government.
“What has happened is that when the local government sphere demanded leadership and certain forms of skills, the regional dynamics from the ruling party have played themselves out at the peril of many municipalities.”
Mgitywa projected a tough time in the office for the new mayor if Gumede was to emerge victorious at the regional conference. “The mayor is the political head of the municipality and has to account to the regional executive. If the chairperson is from the opposing camp to that of the mayor, that could be a bumpy ride for the new mayor,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ANC Youth League remained unhappy over the final ANC councillor candidates’ list, insisting that it failed to meet the 25% youth representation threshold.
ANCYL spokesperson Sizophila Mkhize said they would now shift their focus to occupying positions of influence when the new councils were sworn in after the November 1 local government elections. The positions of mayor, deputy mayor and speaker have become the primary targets for the ruling party’s youth wing.
During campaigning in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, youth league members expressed their frustration over under-representation in the councillors’ list, citing the eThekwini and Moses Mabhida regions as the chief culprits in failing to meet the 25% baseline.
“Our call is that all ANC-controlled councils should have a young person as mayor, deputy mayor or speaker because we want to see change and energy in councils,” said Mkhize.
Youth wing members recently staged a picket at the ANC provincial offices, expressing their frustration at being led by “old people”.
ANC KZN spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela told that the plan is for regions to hold elective conferences before the end of the year. He cited Covid-19 restrictions as the primary cause for the delay in holding regional conferences.
He said the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the further easing of restrictions last week paved the way for conferences but these would take place after the November local government elections.
THE MERCURY