Pretoria - As expected the DA's mayor-elect Stevens Mokgalapa was on Tuesday announced as the new mayor of the City of Tshwane to replace former mayor Solly Msimanga.
This was during the much-anticipated special council sitting that took place at Sammy Marks Council Chamber.
The DA nominated Mokgalapa as its mayoral candidate, but ANC councillor Lesego Makhubela criticised the party's stance.
"Of all the black councillors that are here, did you have to go to Cape Town to get a councillor," he said.
Speaker Katlego Mathebe answered by saying Mokgalapa was schooled at Mabopane High School and went to the University of Pretoria.
During a recent interview with the Pretoria News, Mokgalapa vowed to settle controversies around the irregularly awarded tender to an engineering company GladAfrica within a week in office.
Mokgalapa stepped into the shoes of Msimanga, who resigned effectively on February 11, citing he wanted to focus on his Gauteng premiership candidacy campaign ahead of the May 8 general election.
Msimanga's administration was constantly bedevilled by scandals related to a R12 billion GladAfrica tender and irregular appointments in the mayor's office.
Last month the Auditor-General (AG) found the public project management tender to be irregular.
Mokgalapa is expected to soon appoint the executive mayoral committee after the one under Msimanga was disbanded following his departure.
Mokgalapa was a member of council in Tshwane from 2000 to 2009 before he joined Parliament.
He was born in Winterveld and schooled at Mabopane High School. He obtained his political science degree at the University of Pretoria.
EFF Tshwane chairperson Moaferika Mabogwana earlier told the Pretoria News that Mokgalapa was unknown to the party. He said no one has approached the party with a view to request its support behind Mokgalapa.
Meanwhile, Msimanga was on Tuesday morning sworn in as a member of the Gauteng legislature.