Oscar Mabuyane. Picture: FILE
FACTIONS are wreaking havoc in ANC run municipalities across the Eastern Cape ANC, provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane admitted yesterday.“It’s almost every local municipality that is under siege,” said Mabuyane.
As a result, more municipalities have now been added onto the provincial ANC’s “hot spot” list following deliberations by commissions at a three day PEC lekgotla which ended on Monday night.
Initially it was the two metros – Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela – as well as Mnquma, Mbhashe, Ngqushwa, Port St Johns and Mbizana local municipalities that were on the list.
“Ntabankulu is now also on the list because of tensions and defiance issues in areas such as Ingquza Hill and OR Tambo District Municipality,” said Mabuyane.
“There are hot issues even in Mhlontlo.”
The Daily Dispatch reported on Monday that local government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane tabled a damning report on Friday during the party’s first provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting held at Osner Hotel in East London.
Provincial treasurer Thandiswa Marawu said the issue at hand was factional battles which were adversely affecting service delivery in all the identified municipal “hot spots”.
She said the deadline to implement the lekgotla recommendations was set for the end of March.
Mabuyane said officials would meet at 2pm today to deal with specifics and give guidance to the provincial working committee to follow the process of effecting the necessary changes.
“With the lekgotla, having engaged in all the challenges, we will now zoom into specifics and take some hard decisions,” he said.
Mabuyane warned communities saying they would have to wait a little longer for the ANC to implement its decisions as the lekgotla had no constitutional powers to fire and hire councillors and municipal managers.
In Buffalo City there is a power struggle between mayor Zukiswa Ncitha and municipal manager Andile Fani.
In the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, President Jacob Zuma had to intervene in a similar power struggle between mayor Zamuxolo Wayile and ANC regional chairman Nceba Faku.
In most local municipalities some councillors are accused of defying party orders over deployment, and in areas such as Mbhashe and Mnquma several ANC councillors have already been expelled and suspended for defiance.
He said institutional processes would also have to be followed immediately after to implement the party decisions.
Dave Rankin
February 13, 2013
“… several ANC councillors have already been expelled and suspended for defiance [of the ANC].” Why are councillors never expelled or not doing their jobs?