Time is running out for Ekurhuleni to convene a city council meeting to elect an executive mayor. Sibuil Godwana of the African Independence Congress was removed from office last month in a no-confidence motion sponsored by ActionSA.
Gauteng MEC for Cooperation, Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Muzi Khumalo said the municipal council was scheduled to elect a new mayor in seven days but was postponed at 11am. He warned of the dangers he was exposed to.
The city needs to elect a mayor by the end of next week after adjourning last week's meeting. MEC Khumalo said his office would not allow service delivery to be compromised.
“Therefore, the collapse of this council will be in accordance with the law. Please be very patient and wait another seven days, at which point you must definitely elect an executive mayor. They failed to elect an executive mayor. If so, we will consider other options, but physically there are two options left before us: the first is to partially dissolve the local government that will be sent into administration. .”
Meanwhile, city officials are lamenting administrative delays due to political instability within the council. Public hearings intended to guide service delivery cannot be scheduled unless the mayor is in office.
These hearings are part of local government efforts to meet resident service delivery needs.
“We have faced quite a few challenges recently with changes in Congress. One of the big challenges we face now is the future of IDPs. This requires public participation. Typically, the executive goes out with the MMC and the executive mayor interacts with the community to understand service delivery needs. The is compiled and incorporated into the budget,” said Fakamile Mbengashe, Ekurhuleni communications manager. says.
With a revolving door of mayors leaving the city without a treasurer, the city manager's office had to take emergency measures to prevent the municipality's potential collapse.
“Including the Governance Performance Index, we are ranked second among metros across the country, largely due to Mashazi’s astute management. She has over 30 years of experience as a local government practitioner. We're running a solid ship, and our best performers in terms of index metrics have been leadership and management. So the city manager, as an administrator, is able to withstand political shocks. We were able to put the system in place,” Mbengashe added.
Another council meeting is scheduled for Thursday morning, a day before the deadline issued to CoGTA by the Gauteng MEC Secretariat.