The ruling party is scheduled to start interviewing prospective metro mayors this weekend with some usual suspects on the list. (Photo by Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Provincial structures of the ANC have approved a list of people to be interviewed by the party’s top officials in metros across the country over the next few days for the mayoral chain in the aftermath of last week’s local government elections.
The deadline for provinces to submit names to the national officials was on Tuesday and the ANC’s top brass will begin its interviewing process from Friday until Sunday, the Mail & Guardian has learnt. On Monday, provincial executive committees will hold extended meetings for the final report for presentation to the national executive committee (NEC) on the selection of mayors.
A special meeting of the NEC will be held on Friday 19 November to finalise the list of names before councils are convened to elect new mayors. The NEC meeting was meant to be held on Saturday 13 November but was moved due to the medium-term budget policy statement to be tabled in parliament this Thursday.
In a letter sent to provinces, ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte said they were expected to forward the names of three mayoral candidates for each municipality in which the ANC has a clear majority, or in hung councils where a coalition is possible.
The ANC has decided to award female candidates a bonus five points more than their male counterparts when the ANC begins its process of selecting candidates for mayoral positions. The guidelines state that at least two names in the list must be female.
The mayoral selection guidelines say regional executive committees or regional task teams will have to pick three names from a list of proportional representation (PR) candidates registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for review.
The provincial executive committees must then approve the list and send it to the NEC, where members have the option to reject the proposed names. Should this happen, the province, together with the regions, must change the list for final approval from the NEC.
The M&G understands all seven regions aside from the Western Cape have submitted lists to the provincial leaders for approval. Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the deputy minister of public enterprises, Phumulo Masualle, will join the top five leaders of the ANC – excluding suspended secretary general Ace Magashule – to interview prospective mayoral candidates.
According to the Municipal Structures Act, a person designated by the member of the executive council MEC for local government in the province must call the first meeting of the council of that municipality within 14 days after the council has been declared elected.
Johannesburg
In Johannesburg, the region has approved three names — current mayor Mpho Moerane, outgoing member of the mayoral committee for health and social development Eunice Mgcina and regional secretary Dada Morero.
Some regional leaders are said to favour Moerane while others prefer a female candidate. Moerane was elected as mayor following the death in an accident of Jolidee Matongo while on the campaign trail in Soweto for the 1 November municipal vote.
Tshwane
In Tshwane, the three names touted as the ANC’s mayoral candidates are Frans Bashielo, Rebecca Morudi and Simphiwe Mbatha, leaving out regional chair Dr Kgosi Maepa. Maepa has fallen out of favour, with some in the provincial leadership placing the blame for the dysfunction in the regional structures squarely at his feet.
Recently, the M&G reported how deputy president David Mabuza was asked to resolve challenges confronting the regional structure in Tshwane – or disband it – during a meeting convened with more than 20 disgruntled members over the party’s candidate list for the local government elections.
Ekurhuleni
While current Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina is said to head the list of those who will be interviewed for the top job in the metro, the M&G has been informed that ANC NEC members from the region have been lobbying for him not to return.
Masina, who has been frank about his loyalty to former president Jacob Zuma and Magashule, has been lauded as having been one of the ANC’s top achieving mayors in the last term.
Those said to also be in the running with Masina include outgoing chief whip Jongizizwe Dlabathi, head of finance Nkosindiphile Xhakaza and head of health and social services Nomadlozi Nkosi.
Nelson Mandela Bay
In Gqeberha, where a coalition is possible, the M&G understands the race will be between two ANC regional heavyweights. The much favoured Babalwa Lobishe who was installed by the Oscar Mabuyane faction as task team coordinator when it disbanded the region is said to be regarded as the ideal candidate by the province, while Wandile Jikela has also reportedly set his sights on the mayoral chain.
It is unclear who the third candidate likely to be on the interview list for next week will be.
Buffalo City
While outgoing mayor Xola Phakathi is among the names set to be interviewed, the odds are against him making it back as the number one citizen for Buffalo City. Four names were sent to the NEC by the provincial executive, including Princess Faku, council speaker Humphrey Maxhegwana and ANC council chief whip Mawethu Marata.
In a letter to regions on Tuesday, Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi raised concern over missing qualification documents of some of the proposed candidates. Ngcukayitobi said the provincial deployment committee had been confronted with the challenge of incomplete or missing supporting documents relating to qualifications.
This, he said, placed an additional burden on an already overloaded provincial office to make follow ups, adding: “It is the duty of the original deployment committees to do due diligence and background checks when it comes to qualifications of candidates.”
eThekwini
In the biggest ANC region, insiders say the odds are against incumbent mayor Mxolisi Kaunda retaining the post. Kaunda has spoken out openly against the Ramaphosa faction in the province and is said to be straddling the fence between the two party divides. ANC insiders in the region say Kaunda’s inclusion on the PR council list was imposed by the province.
Thabani Nyawose, a Ramaphosa loyalist who was touted as the next chairperson of the region, is the most favoured to take over Kaunda’s job. Another ANC member on the list handed to the NEC in the metro is said to be Zama Sokhabase.
Mangaung
In Mangaung, the region proposed outgoing mayor and Magashule ally Mxolisi Siyonzana as the top pick. Siyonzana took the reins as mayor in August after the region had been without a mayor since ANC councillors voted with the opposition to oust Olly Mlamleli.
The other two candidates include Mapaseka Mothibi-Nkoane who was elected together with Siyonzana as the council’s new speaker. The third name on the list is former regional secretary Lulama Titi-Odili.
The ANC candidates will judged on:
- Qualifications: five marks;
- Political and leadership experience: 20 marks;
- Executive management, policy and governance experience: 15 marks;
- Basic services and revenue generation. Management of public or development programmes. Community experience and social facilitation, social capital, local economic development and business: 10 marks;
- Public profile and experience in working with media as well as stakeholder relations: five marks;
- Financial management, budgeting and interpretation of finances: five marks;
- Core values and ethical conduct: five marks;
- Gender: A man scores five and a woman 10; and
- Youth empowerment: five marks.
Candidates for the posts will have to have a tertiary level qualification or equivalent, and at least five years of local government experience.
Those applying for the position of metro mayors must have leadership experience in a public or private sector organisation with more than 100 employees, with exposure to strategic planning, performance management and labour relations. Mayors of smaller municipalities need to have worked in a leadership position in an organisation with at least 50 employees.
Potential mayors must also have a track record of disciplined behaviour, with no evidence of a criminal record or evidence of maladministration.
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