Zamuxolo Peter, the former head of Makana council's land, housing and infrastructure development portfolio committee, has emerged the favourite candidate for mayor among the party's regional leadership.

Zamuxolo Peter, the former head of Makana council's land, housing and infrastructure development portfolio committee, has emerged the favourite candidate for mayor among the party's regional leadership.

Sources in the party say that last week the Cacadu regional leadership recommended three names to the provincial bosses for consideration for the positions of mayor, speaker, mayoral committee members and chief whip.

According to the sources, Peter was nominated for mayor, former council speaker Rachel Madinda retains her position, Ward 10 councillor-elect Vuyani Kolisi is chief whip, while Cosatu's provincial legal unit head Paul Notyawa was included in the list of five mayoral committee members.

The sources did not say who the other four members of the committee would be.

ANC regional secretary Nosisa Siwendu could not be reached for comment, while ANC provincial spokesperson Mlibo Qoboshiyane told Grocott's Mail that the party would decide on its mayoral candidates yesterday, when its provincial deployment committee was due to meet. He said the party would then announce its candidates publicly.

The endorsement of Peter's ascendancy to the highest office in the city by the party's bosses will cause an upset among some of the Tripartite Alliance members, such as the Progressive Youth Alliance, which last week publicly campaigned for Notyawa. They argued that Notyawa's legal background and academic qualifications made him the most suitable candidate for donning the mayoral chain.

However, ANC Makana chairman Mbuyiseli Sandi distanced his party from the call and said the party's local structures had already submitted names for the positions of mayor, speaker and chief whip to the regional leadership, which was expected to convey them to their provincial counterparts.

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