Ekurhuleni mayor’s future rests on Matatiele reincorporation

WHETHER Ekurhuleni Metro Mayor Mzwandile Masina remains in that position now depends on whether his party members in the Eastern Cape agree that Matatiele should be reincorporated into KwaZuluNatal.

This was the latest agreement reached by the ANC and African Independent Congress (AIC) following their fiveperson-each meeting in Mount Ayliff in the Eastern Cape yesterday.

AIC, which had earlier threatened to pull out of the coalition agreement it reached with the ANC in Ekurhuleni and Rustenburg in North West, appeared upbeat yesterday that its demand for the reincorporation of Matatiele would be finalised before March 15.

On August 14, AIC entered into a coalition agreement with the ANC in Ekurhuleni after the latter failed to secure an outright majority in the mero in the August 3 local government elections.

Due to that coalition agreement and support from other parties such as the PAC, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) under Gayton McKenzie and the Independent Ratepayers Association, it was retained by the ANC.

The other metros of Joburg and Tshwane were taken over by the DA after the EFF urged their councillors to vote with the DA.

However, for Masina to remain as mayor depended on the Eastern Cape and KwaZuluNatal agreeing to the AIC’s condition to reincorporate Matatiele into KwaZulu-Natal from the Eastern Cape.

The reincorporation was the reason for the birth of the AIC in December 2005 and its first participation and great showing in the 2006 local government elections where it secured 14 seats in local municipalities of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

In the 2009 national elections the AIC also secured its maiden seat in the Eastern Cape provincial legislature, using the Matatiele issue as a rallying call.

It secured three seats in Parliament following the 2014 national elections.

Matatiele also took centre stage during last year’s local government polls but now AIC secretary-general Steve Jafta believes that the final hurdle to reincorporation would be removed.

“We are still positive about the reincorporation of Matatiele into KwaZulu-Natal following our meeting today (yesterday). The ANC delegation led by Jeff Radebe agreed to our proposal. We are now left with the drafting of the memorandum of understanding between the AIC and ANC.

“We agreed with the ANC to give them until March 15 to sign the agreement,” he said.

Jafta was adamant Radebe’s delegation was not opposed to their proposal: “It was a good meeting. They never rejected it. That is the reason we came into a coalition agreement with them.”

However, Jafta said if the two provinces rejected the proposal, they would be forced to pull out of the coalition .

ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa did not confirm Jafta’s finer details but said their meeting was cordial.

The two parties “agreed on a framework of issues that should constitute discussion with the AIC when they meet again at the time to be decided by both delegations”.