Sivuyile Ngodwana, councillor of the African Independent Congress (AIC), which has three seats in the 224-seat Ekurhuleni council, was elected executive mayor of the metro during a marathon council meeting on Thursday.
He replaces DA councillor Tania Campbell who was removed through a vote of no confidence earlier in the day.
Ngodwana was elected as the municipality’s first citizen with 129 votes, against Campbell’s 75. A total of 204 councillors cast their votes and there were no spoilt ballots.
“I therefore declared that Sivuyile Ngodwana is the executive mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni,” said EFF council speaker Ntshabiseng Tshivhenga.
Ngodwana promised to prioritise service delivery, saying his administration would focus on eliminating load-shedding, and put more effort into fixing potholes, pruning trees and cutting grass.
Earlier on Thursday, Campbell was removed from office with 126 votes, and 91 councillors opposed her ousting. A total of 217 councillors cast their votes during the council meeting in Germiston.
This was Campbell’s second ousting as the metro’s first citizen in less than six months — highlighting the instability of coalition governments that political pundits criticise for being more about staying in power than addressing service delivery needs.
Campbell’s removal also casts the spotlight on concerted efforts by the ANC, EFF and smaller parties in their battle for control of the local councils ahead of the national elections in 2024.
The motion was sponsored by ATM councillor John Senona and seconded Ngodwana. Councillors from the Patriotic Alliance, ANC, UDM, PAC and EFF, among other parties, took turns accusing Campbell of a slew of service delivery challenges in the metro, saying she presided over a failed, cash-strapped administration struggling to pay service providers and creditors.
The Freedom Front Plus did not support the motion, which it characterised as “cheap politicking”, saying it was motivated by those who wanted to get their hands on the city’s finances. The city has a budget of R51.2bn for the 2022/23 financial year.
The DA-led coalition in Ekurhuleni suffered a setback with the removal of council speaker Raymond Dhlamini in February, which was followed by the subsequent resignation of DA councillor Khetha Shandu as chief whip. Dhlamini was replaced by EFF councillor Ntshabiseng Tshivhenga and Shandu by ANC deputy regional chair Jongizizwe Dlabathi.
Campbell was viewed as the last woman standing against efforts for a complete takeover of the metro by the ANC and its allies in the council.
She was initially removed through a motion of no confidence in October after the ANC and smaller parties banded together to vote for her removal from the influential position. The EFF abstained from the vote. However, a few weeks later, in November, Campbell was re-elected as executive mayor after the ANC and EFF could not agree on a mayoral candidate.
The Ekurhuleni council has 224 seats, and a clear majority of 50% plus 1 (113) is needed to pass crucial council items such as the budget and votes of no confidence. Of the 224, the ANC has 86 seats, DA 65, EFF 31, ActionSA 15, Freedom Front Plus 8, IFP 2 and ACDP 2, with smaller parties accounting for 10 seats.
The instability of coalitions in Gauteng echoes concern by the SA Local Government Association — an employer body representing the country’s 257 municipalities — that service delivery in SA’s economic heartland is deteriorating as political parties battle for control of local councils and municipalities.
The quest for control of the local councils saw DA councillor Mpho Phalatse removed as executive mayor of the Johannesburg metro in January and replaced by Al Jama-ah councillor Thapelo Amad. Al Jama-ah has three seats in the 270-seat Joburg council.
In Tshwane, DA councillor Cilliers Brink was elected as executive mayor on Tuesday, after almost three weeks of the municipality being without a political head. That was after former COPE councillor Murunwa Makwarela resigned on March 10 after the discovery that he had submitted a fraudulent court rehabilitation order to city manager Johan Mettler, after his insolvency proceedings.
Makwarela, who was elected mayor on February 28 to replace DA councillor Randall Williams, is said to have outstanding insolvency issues dating back to 2016. According to the constitution, an individual who is declared an unrehabilitated insolvent cannot hold public office.
Update: March 30 2023
This article has been updated with new information.
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