A Democratic Alliance move to label mayor Nceba Faku of the Nelson Mandela metropole the ”worst mayor in South Africa” is backfiring as even sceptical African National Congress supporters rally behind their party’s man.
Faku supporters said this week that the DA’s constant clamour to have the beleaguered mayor removed had mustered support for him ”because we will not be seen to be lectured to by the DA”.
”We are aware of the anti-Faku faction among our members. We also know they are trying to exert pressure to oust him. But they are losing support because of the DA. iGiraffe [the cadres’ nickname for Faku because of his long neck] has all the support he needs,” said a senior ANC member and councillor.
He declined to be named, but noted that Faku had won the mayor of the year award for the past two years.
This week Gloria Borman, a DA MP and spokesperson on provincial and local government, asked President Thabo Mbeki and Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile to axe the man she called ”South Africa’s worst mayor”.
She said the Scorpions should investigate how R213842 from the Port Elizabeth Cooperative Development Trust, chaired by Faku, came to be invested in Marathon Tyre Retreaders, where Faku was a director.
An investigation in March by Elizabeth Trent, caucus chairperson of the DA in the metropolitan council, found that a R500 000 municipal grant-in-aid was made to the Cooperative Development Trust in February 1999, followed by a R500 000 grant from the provincial government.
After pressure by the DA, Dan Hatto, the trust’s treasurer and former Umkhonto weSizwe regional commander, wrote a four-page report to Stofile. He summarised the income and expenditure of the trust, indicating an income of R1 256 133 from ”donations and interest” and expenses of R1 323 280.
According to the report the trust was established ”to provide skills training for veterans of the struggle against apartheid”. Its trustees include Govan Mbeki and Judge Ronnie Pillay.
The report says R718 600 was spent on buildings, equipment and furniture, and R502 000 on ”empowerment projects”, including R213 842 in the ”tyre industry”.
The report expresses its ”heartfelt apology” for its failure to provide the premier with information about the expenditure of a R500 000 provincial grant, but it lists R13 555 as expenditure for ”training”.
Roland Williams, Faku’s spokesperson, described Borman linking the money invested by the trust in the tyre industry directly to Faku’s retreading company as ”absolute rubbish”.
Borman said Faku ”lavished himself with luxuries” and ”stumbles from one crisis to another”, though his metropole — which includes Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Dispatch — had debt arrears of more than R700-million.
Among other allegations against Faku Borman said he:
spent R45000 on his inaugural party;
flew business class rather than economy class;
bought a mayoral chair that cost between R12 000 and R40 000;
spent R216000 on renovating his office;
and landed the council with a R1,5-million bill after controversially trying to fast-track a R20-million debt-recovery contract after reneging on a contract for computer programs to collect rates and services.
Williams also admitted this week that Faku has not been repaying the R80 500 from his discretionary fund that he used for personal expenses. He was ordered to repay the money after the council ordered an investigation into the expenditure of his discretionary fund.
Faku said he was surprised the municipal treasury department had not been deducting the money from his salary, as he had agreed with the council.
Williams said the matter would be sorted out ”as soon as possible”.
The council agreed to give the mayor 42 months to pay back the money without interest.
According to a list of expenses leaked to the media by the DA, Faku spent the money from his discretionary fund on personal items such as traffic fines, sports clothes, air tickets for family members, groceries for an ANC Youth League party, and class fees and driving lessons for his family.
”He’s got our trust and support,” said Humphrey Maxegwana, the ANC’s provincial secretary.
Referring to the mayor’s role as a trustee of the Port Elizabeth Cooperative Development Trust, he said: ”All the trustees are people of high regard, integrity and supporters of the ANC. His position within the trust has no bearing on his performance as mayor.”
Williams said Faku had submitted ”proper reports” on the matter.
”The ANC appointed Faku as mayor and the ANC is the only body that can unseat him.
”The provincial executive of the ANC, after having assessed and evaluated the performance and political leadership and development of the municipality, issued a vote of confident in Mr Faku,” he said.
Faku, who was found guilty of terrorism in 1986 and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by the previous regime, was released from Robben Island in December 1990. In 1994, at the age of 37, he was elected the first mayor of the Port Elizabeth Transitional Local Council after serving the ANC as a regional organiser.
Stone Sizani, Eastern Cape MEC for Education, earlier this month denied that he was being tipped to replace Faku as executive mayor.