eThekwini's new mayor, Cyril Shaba, was sworn in after being elected unopposed at a special council meeting on Wednesday. Photo: eThekwini Municipality
Newly elected eThekwini mayor Cyril Shaba has promised to halt the decline of the city's infrastructure and ensure an uninterrupted water supply for residents in areas who have long been fighting for vital water resources.
Shaba was elected unopposed as mayor of eThekwini at a special council meeting held at the Durban International Conference Centre on Wednesday.
Shaba, a former member of the National Assembly and MEP for Agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal, replaces Mxolisi Kaunda, who was recalled by the ANC on the eve of the May 29 election.
Shaba, a former town planning commissioner, had been in government since 1994 and was also a member of parliament when the ANC decided to redeploy him to the conflict-hit city.
He was nominated on Wednesday by eThekwini deputy mayor Zandile Myeni, who leads the city's National Freedom Party (NFP), and supported by ANC deputy provincial secretary Nkosenhle Madlala.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), which had previously fielded its own mayoral candidate, did not do so, indicating that the national DA-ANC coalition is now making inroads in the city.
DA caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa has withdrawn from being nominated by Action SA's Zwakele Mncwango, in an apparent attempt to draw attention to him and his party over their new ties with the ANC in the city.
As a result, Shaba was elected unopposed, a significant milestone because the ANC region had previously opposed his nomination and supported several candidates, including former mayor James Nxumalo and former police minister Bheki Cele.
Cele, who was the ANC's eThekwini region's first chairperson in the 1990s, attended the council meeting to voice his support for Shaba, who acknowledged Cele's attendance in his acceptance speech.
Shaba described his selection as a “tough challenge” and said he accepted the role “fully aware of the expectations that come with it.”
He said that in addition to addressing infrastructure challenges, his administration's immediate priorities would be creating safe cities, improving governance, fighting corruption, attracting investment and promoting an inclusive economy.
Xaba said there would also be a focus on Durban city centre, with a view to revitalising the city centre and cleaning up the city centre.
He promised to work with a range of intervention teams appointed by the national and provincial governments to help improve governance and service delivery in eThekwini.
These include the Section 139 team, led by former Mayor Mike Sutcliffe and former Chief Executive Cassius Rubisi, with Mr Rubisi due to meet next week.
The intervention team was blocked from carrying out its work by ANC eThekwini councillors when it was first appointed last year, but was reappointed within days of its appointment by the new MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Thulasizwe Buthelezi.
Xaba said city employees were expected to perform their duties, represent and serve eThekwini and work with integrity.
“We will not tolerate people who are unwilling to work and who pursue their own interests at the expense of the people of eThekwini,” he said.
“We monitor senior management's performance to ensure it is aligned with the objectives and key performance indicators that underpin our comprehensive development plan.”