Councillor Nomhle Gaga could be appointed as the new mayor today, against the wishes of those who have been advocating for an outside person to take over the reins in Makana.
Councillor Nomhle Gaga could be appointed as the new mayor today, against the wishes of those who have been advocating for an outside person to take over the reins in Makana.
Grocott's Mail has learned from a number of ANC sources that leaders of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the ANC are expected to announce the much-talked about reshuffle of the executive committee of Makana Municipality during a special council meeting today, 24 July.
In this move Gaga is expected to be appointed as the new mayor of Makana Municipality.
It appears that the PEC and the ANC Regional Executive Committee (REC) have been at loggerheads since last year regarding this process.
Insiders say leaders of the REC have been calling for the appointment of a person outside of the current leadership of Makana Municipality.
Speaking to Grocott's Mail on Wednesday, ANC regional secretary Scara Njadayi said no positions had been confirmed.
"There are no confirmed positions of either chief whip, speaker or in fact any reshuffle.
The province is still dealing with that matter," he said.
Njadayi said once the province implements that process they will carry it through.
Other changes expected to come out of the reshuffle include councillor Julia Wells being appointed as a full time mayoral committee member, Rachel Madinda-Isaac to be replaced as Council Speaker by an outsider and current mayor Zamuxolo Peter to be deployed in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality.
Sources within the ANC, who spoke to Grocott's Mail on condition of anonymity said they were against Gaga's appointment because of her close relationship with Peter.
They claim she would simply implement whatever decisions had already been taken by Peter. The sources claim that Peter is being protected by the PEC due to close links to high-ranking ANC officials in that body.
Peter was not available for comment at the time of going to press. Names of outside candidates for the mayor's position included former Makana mayor Likhaya Ngqezana and Provincial Legislature member Phila Nkayi.
Two weeks ago Grocott's Mail reported that Peter might be recalled, in a move that could see also councillor Paul Notyawa booted out of his job.
Insiders told Grocott's Mail that Notyawa might be the biggest casualty in the process, as he stands to lose his job. Notyawa, who is currently heading the Local Economic Development and Planning portfolio is expected to be fired during this process.
Insiders claim there is no valid reason for Notyawa to be dismissed as he hasn't been linked to any corruption. They say if this is because Notyawa has taken the municipality to court, the process is not fair because his lawyers have merely communicated with the Council's lawyers regarding his application for the post of municipal manager.
"[Councillor Pierre] Ranchhod has taken the municipality to court, but he gets away with just a warning," said one source, referring to Ranchhod's bid to take Makana to court over their resolution to demolish his building (Makhanda Mall).
There is a general feeling among other ANC members that the PEC is punishing people who are exposing corruption, while protecting those linked to corruption and implicated in the Kabuso reports.
The DA, although not privy to information about the proposed reshuffle, has backed the call for an outside person to replace Peter. DA caucus leader Les Reynolds said they had been reading about the reshuffle in newspapers.
He said the DA is fully behind the decision to axe Peter. "I have been calling for the resignation of the mayor for a long time. We had done this through motions of no confidence against the Mayor and the Speaker, but of course we didn't win," he said.
Reynolds said getting an outside person for the job is probably a good idea. He said it would have to be a person who can take the heat of being a mayor and who is able to stand up and be a leader.
Reynolds said they would need to appoint someone more powerful, because the problems faced by the municipality had gone too far.
"You must remember this is an executive mayor, it's not just someone who is going to cut cakes and do those kinds of things. "It needs someone who understands finance and municipal processes," Reynolds said.
ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane could not be reached for comment and he did not respond to text messages.
Mabuyane's spokesperson Pindile Miza had been promising to respond to emailed questions for about two weeks, but hadn't at the time of going to press.
anele@grocotts.co.za
