ANC to fight to bitter end to hold Joburg

THE ANC appears set to fight to the last to retain control of Joburg after suffering the humiliation of watching a DA mayor installed in the capital of Tshwane yesterday.

While it seems a hopeless cause after EFF leader Julius Malema said on Thursday his party would vote for DA mayoral candidate for Joburg Herman Mashaba, despite its misgivings, the ANC is understood to be clinging to the hope of a last-minute surprise – as happened in Rustenburg where the ANC narrowly defeated the combined opposition against expectations they would vote together.

The chairman of the DA’s federal executive, James Selfe, confirmed Mashaba remained the DA candidate after the EFF initially requested he be replaced before it would vote with the DA in Joburg.

The ANC achieved a minor victory on an otherwise painful day when its Rustenburg mayor, Mpho Khunou, was re-elected with 46 votes against 43 received by Rocky Malebane-Metsing of the Forum 4 Service Delivery.

The ANC won 43 seats in the North West city against the combined opposition’s 46 and was expected to lose the council despite having received the most votes.

Its hold on the council remains precarious as no formal coalition deals have been struck.

The Joburg council is to meet on Monday to elect a speaker and mayor in what is likely to be a tense affair after the ill-tempered first sitting in Tshwane, where newly minted DA mayor Solly Msimanga was heckled by ANC councillors during his maiden speech.

He said change had come to the city moments after he was elected the city’s first citizen unopposed at the inaugural sitting of the fourth term of council yesterday afternoon.

Msimanga was nominated by fellow DA councillor Marietha Aucamp, after another party member, Rachel Katlego Mathebe, was elected unopposed as the new speaker of council.

Mathebe, a former Cope councillor, immediately presided over the process to elect the new mayor and later Chief Whip. The position went to the DA’s Christo van der Heever, who was also elected unopposed.

Msimanga, who did not get a mayoral chain, wasted no time in highlighting some of the sweeping changes that would be introduced under the DA rule and his watch in the next five years.

While social media on online news platforms were abuzz with the news that the chain had been stolen, the city indicated there had never been a mayoral chain.