Former ANC MP Cyril Xaba has been sworn in as the councillor of eThekwini Municipality, in a move that provides the strongest indication yet that he is set to be elected as the City’s first citizen.
“The Mercury” has been reliably informed that a report was tabled by the speaker’s office indicating that Xaba is now a councillor in eThekwini. This is the first step in the process that could see him elected mayor.
It is expected that council will give the go-ahead for Xaba to take over the ANC’s seat in the executive committee. This will be the second step that almost clears all hurdles for him to be appointed to the top job.
He could be sworn in as early as Tuesday to replace former mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, who is now a member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
Xaba has decades of experience in government. He has been an MPL in KwaZulu-Natal, and was the Agriculture and Rural Development MEC.
However, his ascendancy to the post is being complicated by the talks around the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU). The ANC needs votes from the other parties to push Xaba through as mayor.
The smaller parties, which have kept the ANC in power in a coalition since 2021, have indicated that it seemed their relationship with the ANC had come to an end and the party would now need to rely on its GNU partners.
The ANC on Monday dismissed the possibility of Xaba being sworn in on Tuesday, saying it is waiting for the outcome of the interview process. Three candidates have been interviewed by the party’s national office for the position. The race for this post has also sparked tensions between the ANC provincial leadership and eThekwini regional leadership, who complained that they have not been consulted on the issue.
The region has oversight of the councillors deployed to the municipality, while the province has oversight of the municipality because it is a metro.
Two councillors, who are part of the eThekwini executive committee, said a report had been tabled indicating Xaba’s candidacy.
“We received a report from the speaker’s office that said Xaba has been sworn in as a councillor in the eThekwini Municipality. Tomorrow, council will be briefed on the ANC’s intention that Xaba should fill its seat that is vacant in the executive committee.
“The report was tabled before exco today (Monday) and it spelt out clearly that Xaba was being placed in exco,” said an official aware of the matter.
Another councillor, who was part of the meeting, said: “Yes, there was a report that was tabled and discussed.
The report was twofold: it first indicates that Xaba has been sworn in as the councillor in eThekwini and that he is likely to take over the ANC seat in the executive committee.
“The ANC caucus will also need to get direction from the province and national as to who will vote with them for the position.”
ANC leader in exco Nkosenhle Madlala declined to comment, saying that such a report would have been discussed as an in-committee item and was therefore confidential.
The Mercury