Tania Campbell has been reinstated as mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni after long deliberations held by the coalition parties over the past two weeks.
Campbell beat ANC’s Jongizizwe Dlabathi and scooped 124 out of 224 ballot votes. She was ousted through a motion of no confidence in October when one hundred councillors voted in favour of the motion against 93. The EFF abstained from the vote.
The motion was brought by the ANC, which claimed at the time that Campbell had failed to provide adequate services to the residents of the metro.
Campbell indicated at the time that the DA’s job in the city is far from done. EFF Nkululeko Dunga was expected to run for the mayorship, however, he withdrew from the race on Tuesday morning citing that he is not after positions.
Dunga’s withdrawal is an indication that talks between the ANC and the EFF were unsuccessful. The ANC had proposed to support the EFF in Ekurhuleni in exchange for the red berets’ support in their next mission to remove reinstated City of Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse.
Another ANC heavyweight Mzwandile Masina, who was expected to make a comeback for a second term as mayor, also withdrew from the race last week when the sitting was postponed for further deliberations.
Masina, who confirmed his withdrawal to journalists on Wednesday, said he has served his term as mayor and wants to explore other opportunities.
“Unfortunately I’ve served my five-year term. When I attempted a second term, I was defeated, so it’s time to focus on other issues in the movement,” said Masina at the time.
City of Johannesburg mayorship
Phalatse remains safe for now, however, it is still not clear for how long. The city of Johannesburg’s smaller parties, including the African Transformation Movement and the Congress of the People, dismissed reports that Phalatse will face a motion of no confidence on Friday.
Instead, according to media reports, council speaker Colleen Makhubele has confirmed that a meeting set for Friday is only for deliberations on the DA’s plan to take out a loan of R2-billion from the Development Bank.
Makhubele said, however, that they will meet on November 14 to assess the admissibility of another motion of no confidence in Phalatse.
In September, Phalatse was succeeded by the ANC’s Dada Morero after she was removed through a motion of no confidence. In October, she was reinstated to the position after the high court in Johannesburg ruled that her removal was unlawful and invalid.
Another special meeting, where she was supposed to be removed again, was scheduled for Thursday last week, however, it was later struck off the council’s agenda.
This story has been updated
🔴DA Retains Ekurhuleni🔴
The Democratic Alliance's Tania Campbell has returned to her post as the Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni. Campbell defeated the ANC's Jongizizwe Dlabathi. The ANC fielded their own candidate after failing to agree with the EFF's proposals. pic.twitter.com/dN4LchXmA1
— The Insight Factor (@insightfactor) November 8, 2022
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
