Jacob Khawe is the second provincial leader to speak out against the presence of their seniors at provincial conferences.
Jacob Khawe is back in his position as mayor of Emfuleni.
The ANC in Gauteng believes Khawe is committed to serving the community after he resigned from the position of mayor earlier this week, just six months after starting the job.
Provincial secretary Hope Mankwana Papo said ANC provincial officials met with Khawe on Thursday to discuss the implementation of the provincial executive committee’s decision to direct the provincial government to intervene in the struggling municipality.
Papo said Khawe reaffirmed his commitment to serving the community and ensuring the municipality met its constitutional obligations of service delivery to the community.
A source confirmed to News24 that the municipality is no longer under administration.
Earlier this week, Khawe resigned with immediate effect in retaliation against the decision to place the struggling municipality under semi-administration.
Papo said it was confirmed that an unsigned letter citing Khawe’s request to step down as mayor was received by the office of the provincial secretary.
“However, the provincial officials did not accept the request because they believe Comrade Khawe is making a positive contribution to the task of bringing Emfuleni local municipality back on track,” he said.
“The meeting further agreed that the executive mayor of Emfuleni and the premier of Gauteng will work together on the details of the intervention to implement the PEC decision which they will jointly announce early next week.”
Last week, News24 reported that the decision to place the municipality under semi-administration was seen as an attempt to undercut Khawe’s bid to contest the provincial secretary position at the upcoming ANC Gauteng elective conference later this month.
Khawe is expected to go against incumbent Papo, who is closely aligned with Gauteng Premier David Makhura.
However, other sources said at the time that the municipality was cash strapped and struggling to deliver basic services, including paying utility bills and garbage collection, leaving Makhura no choice but to place it under administration.
Khawe was appointed mayor last year, replacing Simon Mofokeng after he was accused of sexually grooming a 14-year-old girl. — News24