DURBAN - RAY Nkonyeni Local Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast is expected to finally elect the mayor on Friday after operating without a political head for almost three months.
ANC provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said on Thursday that the party had agreed with branches on the mayoral candidate.
Ray Nkonyeni is the only municipality without a mayor and deputy in Port Shepstone’s lower south coast.
This was caused by fights for power. The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) appointed Sibusiso Shange as mayor, but branches that wanted Sikhumbuzo “Zero” Mqadi vowed to never allow Shange to take over.
A councillor in Mqadi’s camp, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Mqadi was expected to be appointed to the position.
Previously, Mqadi’s supporters had threatened to let the municipality slip out of the ANC’s hands rather than to allow the party to impose Shange on them.
During the first sitting, the council elected a speaker. When it had to elect the mayor and deputy, the meeting collapsed. The subsequent council meeting ended without electing a mayor and deputy.
A councillor in Mqadi’s camp previously said they would rather be governed by the opposition than allow the ANC to impose a mayor on them.
The councillor said Mqadi was politically and administratively far senior to Shange. The situation prompted the intervention of the provincial leadership which went down to branches to hold consultative talks last year. The talks did not yield positive results.
This was denied by the party's regional convener, Phumlile Mthiyane.
Mqadi was a school principal and had been working with Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Ravi Pillay since 2012. He once led the SA Democratic Teachers Union as regional chairperson.
Daily News