Durban - Coming back from a nearly three year political wilderness, former eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo, has been appointed by the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to chair the Economic Development portfolio committee at the KZN legislature.
Nxumalo who is the chairperson of the SACP in the province missed out on a cabinet position last month where he was expected to notch a senior one. He was the mayor of eThekwini between 2011 and 2016 and was replaced by the now suspended mayor, Zandile Gumede.
Nxumalo said he has been given the role that will see him holding to account the provincial department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, whose MEC is Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
“It looks like that but let us wait for the official announcement about the people appointed to chair committees,” Nxumalo told Independent Media on Tuesday.
Other prominent ANC members appointed to the positions include former education MEC, Mthandeni Dlungwane who will the chair Premier’s office portfolio committee.
As part of elevating the youth, the ANC appointed two members of its KZN youth league, Amanda Bani and Vuyiswa Caluza. Bani will chair the sports and recreation portfolio committee while Caluza was appointed as Deputy Chief Whip of the majority party in the legislature.
The league’s provincial secretary, Thanduxolo Sabelo, hailed the appointed, and said they are pleased by the confidence shown by the ANC in young people.
“The responsibility given to these comrades is on behalf of a generation of young people. The energy they will bring into the work of the legislature in their new responsibilities will be indicative of what younger leaders can achieve when given an opportunity,” Sabelo said in a statement issued on behalf of the league.