The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has a short list of three candidates who could be appointed mayor of the eThekwini municipality after the party fired Mxolisi Kaunda last week.
Kaunda was redeployed to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Cape Town and according to some reports three names that are being discussed in ANC circles: former police minister Bheki Cele, former KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and former MEC for agriculture and rural development, Cyril Xaba.
Provincial ANC spokesperson Mafika Mndebele, confirmed that the party had identified three candidates but would did not divulge the names, only saying that an announcement would be made soon.
“What we do is nominate three people and take their names to the national leadership. The leadership will then conduct interviews on these three candidates, they will come back to us with their respective scores, then the next mayor will be appointed from there,” explained Mndebele.
Democratic Alliance caucus leader in eThekwini, Thabani Mthethwa said the party’s caucus will meet and decide on a possible way forward in consultation with their provincial leadership.
“We are saying the position should be filled soon, because we know that the ANC has a leadership crisis especially in eThekwini municipality. We have a council meeting on the 25th and the issue of the vacant mayoral post in the municipality may be part of the agenda,” said Mthethwa.
IFP eThekwini spokesperson, Mdu Nkosi said they would wait for a directive from their senior leaders on the way forward.
“The people of eThekwini have a right to know who their next mayor will be and we will make sure that it will be someone who cares about their interests and prioritises service delivery,” he said.
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said it was possible the ANC was still consulting with partners of the Government of National Unity (GNU) as to who will be appointed the next eThekwini mayor.
“We do not know the full details of this GNU, so I will not be surprised if we have someone from parties apart from the ANC as the new mayor,” Khumalo said.
After his removal Kaunda said he left a great legacy, having provided service delivery to eThekwini’s citizens.
Kaunda served as mayor of eThekwini since 2019. Before that he was also the KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison from 2016 to 2019 and a member of the KZN Legislature from 2009 to 2019.
The Mercury