Cyril Shaba, 57, has been an ANC member of parliament for KwaZulu-Natal since 1994 and became MEC for Agriculture in 2014.
The ANC leadership is set to replace sacked mayor Mxolisi Kaunda with former provincial assemblyman Cyril Shaba in a bid to stabilise the struggling eThekwini municipality.
But the plan is likely to spark a backlash from Kaunda's party's eThekwini district councillors, who believe they have been sidelined by Kaunda's removal without their knowledge.
The region is hoping that either former eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo or former human settlements chairperson Nigel Gumede will be nominated as the ANC's candidate to replace Kaunda at the full council meeting scheduled for June 25.
Shaba, 57, has been an ANC member of parliament for KwaZulu-Natal since 1994 and became MEC for Agriculture in 2014.
He was sacked by the ANC after the provincial leadership was replaced by Jacob Zuma's faction in 2016, but returned to parliament as an MP in 2019, serving as chairperson for defence and veterans' affairs.
Kaunda, who was appointed in 2018 to replace mayor Zandile Gumede, who was accused of corruption, was elected by a coalition of the ANC and smaller parties after the November 2021 local government elections.
The ANC does not have a majority in the city (it fell below 50% in 2021) and as a result Kaunda is the subject of a motion of no confidence aimed at removing him from office over the breakdown of the city service.
The ANC recalled Mr Kaunda last week but deputy mayor Zandile Myeni will take over in his role until a new mayor is elected.
“This entire process has been managed by the provincial leadership to the exclusion of the party's regional leadership,” ANC eThekwini branch spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize said.
Mkhize said the decision to recall Kaunda was taken by the province “without informing us”, but added that it had not created any issues between the region and the province.
“It’s like having an older brother who takes responsibility for his younger brother and thinks there’s no need for an argument. [provincial executive committee’s] “Our job is to provide oversight, and they have deemed it appropriate and necessary to remove the mayor without informing us,” he said.
Mkhize said if the province was “serious about restoring people's trust and rebuilding the ANC” it would have appointed either Nxumalo or Gumede, who he said understood how the city worked.
“This is the way things are. We welcome the wisdom of our leaders and look forward to their guidance,” Mkhize said.
But attempts by the province to appoint an administrative team in the capital region last year were resisted by ANC councillors at the behest of the region, and the intervention failed.
The three-member team has been unable to intervene for six months due to internal political deadlock within the ANC, and Shaba may be in for a tough time if the ANC is unable to persuade eThekwini leaders to cooperate.
ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said the province would recommend who should be appointed to the national leadership.
“We will submit three names to the national civil service, they will be interviewed and the most suitable person will be announced as mayor,” Mndebele said.
The city also does not have a human settlements cluster chairperson – a powerful position that until February was held by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) as part of a deal with the ANC.
But EFF councillor Themba Mbubu was removed from the city's executive committee in February and Kaunda took over the role until a new candidate was appointed.
It is unclear how the ANC will tackle the issue at its next executive committee meeting on Monday.
One of the ANC leaders Mail & Guardian The party is moving to appoint Shaba to a proportional representation councillor ahead of an executive committee meeting as part of the process for the June 25 mayoral election.
It is also unclear whether the ANC will retain its existing coalition partners in the city – the National Freedom Party (NFP), EFF and smaller parties – when elections are held, or whether it will be able to gain the support of new allies in a government of national unity.
The ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party, Democratic Alliance (DA) and NFP voted en masse in support of new Prime Minister Thami Ntuli last Friday, a deal that is expected to trickle down to city level.
Mndebele played down suggestions that something like this might happen in the city, saying “the ANC already has allies in the metro”.
But the EFF-ANC coalition government in Gauteng's major towns has collapsed and the same is expected to happen in KwaZulu-Natal.
DA caucus leader Thabani Mthetwa said the party expected the vacant positions of mayor and human settlements chairperson to be filled “as soon as possible”.
“We cannot allow such a critical position in the city to remain vacant for such a long period of time,” he said.
Mthethwa said the DA in the city would wait for “instructions” from the party's national and provincial leadership on whether there would be any changes to how the organisation would vote in eThekwini.
“Right now, I know there is an agreement to work together at the national and state government levels. Whether that extends to local governments, I don't know,” he said. “Once the dust settles, the leadership will guide us.”
