The ANC in the Ekurhuleni region has come out in full support of its embattled chairperson Mzwandile Masina after he had offered to resign as the mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni, the continent’s manufacturing hub, in a Twitter storm on Monday night.
A statement by the Regional Executive Committee (REC), the highest decision-making body between conferences in the region, said Masina would stay put in his place as his views articulated those of the ANC.
“During the REC meeting, the Regional Chairperson (Masina) expressed his intention to resign as the executive mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni. The REC collectively rejected the resignation after a robust discussion on the matter,” read the statement .
“It was agreed that such a decision would reverse the good work of the coalition government in the City of Ekurhuleni and destabilize the political environment in the Region.”
Masina got hot under the collar when the national ANC leadership distanced itself from his tweet in which he supported EFF leader Julius Malema’s call for nationalisation of the” commanding heights” of the economy.
The ANC, in a statement, said Masina’s statement on nationalisation of the economy fell outside the confines of the party’s policy position.
Masina then dared the party to axe him.
“I can be removed tomorrow as Mayor I’ll accept it without hesitation. I (am) not a coward. Im ready @myanc I won’t ask you why. What I won’t do is be friends of WMC (white monopoly capital)…,” Masina tweeted.
It is not the first time Masina has threatened to resign should things not go his way. In the lead up to the ANC 54th national conference which elected Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC president, Masina had vowed to resign should Ramaphosa be voted into that office, a promise he did not follow through.
