Cape Town - New Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is said to have decided against keeping Mayco member for water and sanitation Xanthea Limberg, party insiders revealed.
The 34 year old is looking to retain most of the previous Mayco members.
It is not yet clear whether Limberg will be moved elsewhere or left out of the operations. A party insider said that Limberg was on her way out following a Fedex sitting yesterday. Another high-level source confirmed the information but declined to say what the future held for Limberg.
Hill-Lewis, who was elected as Cape Town’s youngest mayor on Thursday, is expected to announce his Mayco team at the beginning of the week.
In his first day in office, Hill-Lewis inspected sewage problems in Khayelitsha and Phoenix. Notably, he went without Limberg but chose to go with Malusi Booi who held the Mayco position for human settlements in the previous administration.
Booi would not be drawn on speculations and said announcements would be made on Monday.
“Everything will be announced on Monday. There is no such thing (that he will replace Limberg).”
Limberg and safety and security Mayco member JP Smith still have a qualification saga hanging over their heads. The Weekend Argus exclusively revealed earlier this year that the pair might have falsified their qualifications. This led to party investigations, the findings of which are yet to be made public.
Limberg did not respond when approached for comment.
The City administration under Dan Plato was criticised for not adequately attending to blocked drains and sewage spills in the townships and on the Cape Flats. In his inaugural address, Hill-Lewis mentioned that sewers would occasionally be blocked and pump stations would sometimes break down.
“But when these problems are reported, they must be attended to with the same speed and service excellence no matter where you live in Cape Town,” he said.
“Let me make this absolutely clear: service complaints should be answered promptly, and residents given the respect of an explanation if their complaints will take some time to resolve. That is the standard we set.”
Hill-Lewis also declined to confirm if he would be removing Limberg. He said all would be revealed on Monday.
Speaking of his first day in office, Hill-Lewis said it was great to start his first full day as mayor in Khayelitsha and Phoenix, getting stuck into a problem he had been concerned about – the number of sewerage spills around the city.
“I enjoy getting to grips with problems personally by going to see for myself. The insight from today’s visit is how one system failure, a blocked stormwater drain, has four or five major and very expensive knock-on effects.
“I have tasked the relevant officials in the city to come up with a short-term plan to address these issues as soon as possible. This will be in addition to our long-term plan to increase infrastructure investment.”
Weekend Argus