Gumede’s backers anxiously await top six’s ruling

AS MEMBERS of the ANC in the eThekwini region wait with bated breath to know how the ANC’s national Top Six will rule on Zandile Gumede’s bid to rescind her resignation as eThekwini mayor, her supporters have already vowed to launch a challenge if the outcome is unsatisfactory.

The Top Six spent the better part of yesterday locked in a meeting with the top five of the ANC in KZN to get their side of the story on Gumede.

Insisting that they want clarity on who has the right to fire mayors of metros and municipalities, the backers of Gumede said they would challenge any outcome that doesn’t clarify this issue.

Mzomuhle Dube, spokesperson for her supporters, said they would also write to the Top Six to clarify whether it had become the norm for the provincial leadership to remove mayors of big cities.

“If the Top Six say the provincial leadership acted unlawfully, they must charge them for that. Again, if they say there was nothing wrong with their decision, then we will be happy to be told that this is now normal,” Dube said.

Mayors of metros and other big cities are normally appointed by the national offices after receiving recommendations from the provinces. Dube said since the meeting ran until late yesterday, they expected to have a clear picture of the outcome this morning.

“I don’t think we will know what happened today (Monday) because the Top Six meeting will run until very late.”

On Wednesday last week Gumede surprised many when she withdrew her resignation as mayor after she was advised that the process followed was flawed. Prior to that, she had petitioned the national Top Six alleging that she was being unfairly removed from office.

She also met secretary-general Ace Magashule to state her case and allegedly presented him with a corruption dossier that fingers senior party members in the region and province. But party insiders in the KZN ANC provincial executive committee said there was no way the decision to appoint Mxolisi Kaunda as mayor, Belinda Scott as deputy mayor and Weziwe Thusi as speaker, would change.

“Whatever the outcome of that Top Six meeting, the swearing-in of Kaunda on Thursday will proceed as planned. That decision is very clear,” said a senior party insider. Also, ANC KZN spokesperson Ricardo Mthembu confirmed that Kaunda would be sworn in on Thursday.

Durban-based political analyst Thabani Khumalo said by undertaking the process to appeal against the decision to fire her as mayor, Gumede was trying to bargain for a better deployment outside the municipality where she was expected to remain as an ordinary councillor.

Khumalo added that it would be better for the ANC to move her out of eThekwini as her presence would create instability for the next mayor.