The ANC's Nkosindiphile Xhakaza is the newly elected mayor of Ekurhuleni.
He was elected unopposed on Thursday morning after a council meeting marred by a three-hour delay due to parties being locked in negotiations regarding who would be best suited to take over from ousted former mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana.
It is understood that the “super seven” minority parties insisted on the mayor being from the ANC — a plot twist from the initial Gauteng metro takeover deal between the ANC/EFF and minorities.
Previously, the idea was to field a minority party mayor and speaker, while the two major parties configured the mayoral committee seat allocation among themselves.
However, Xhakaza, an ANC deployee and Ekurhuleni regional task team member, now holds the seat as first citizen of the city.
He served as a former MMC for group corporate and shared services under the axed Ngodwana.
He is also a former finance and economic development MMC under former ANC mayor Mzwandile Masina.
The refusal of the DA to field a mayoral candidate or back an ActionSA candidate for the post resulted in a collapsed attempt to reconvene their previous multiparty government.
This left no clear path for any alternative to the ANC and EFF marriage to emerge in Ekurhuleni.
Xhakaza is expected to stabilise the embattled coalition, having faced tensions in the past in the embattled ANC/EFF partnership in the council.
TimesLIVE
Nkosindiphile Xhakaza elected new Ekurhuleni mayor
The ANC's Nkosindiphile Xhakaza is the newly elected mayor of Ekurhuleni.
He was elected unopposed on Thursday morning after a council meeting marred by a three-hour delay due to parties being locked in negotiations regarding who would be best suited to take over from ousted former mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana.
It is understood that the “super seven” minority parties insisted on the mayor being from the ANC — a plot twist from the initial Gauteng metro takeover deal between the ANC/EFF and minorities.
Previously, the idea was to field a minority party mayor and speaker, while the two major parties configured the mayoral committee seat allocation among themselves.
However, Xhakaza, an ANC deployee and Ekurhuleni regional task team member, now holds the seat as first citizen of the city.
He served as a former MMC for group corporate and shared services under the axed Ngodwana.
He is also a former finance and economic development MMC under former ANC mayor Mzwandile Masina.
The refusal of the DA to field a mayoral candidate or back an ActionSA candidate for the post resulted in a collapsed attempt to reconvene their previous multiparty government.
This left no clear path for any alternative to the ANC and EFF marriage to emerge in Ekurhuleni.
Xhakaza is expected to stabilise the embattled coalition, having faced tensions in the past in the embattled ANC/EFF partnership in the council.
TimesLIVE
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