Councillors slam ANC candidate
Political feathers ruffled as some councillors say PEC is ‘imposing’ deputy mayor on ethekwini
The ANC Kwazulu-natal leadership faces an uphill battle with its own councillors in its attempt to install former Durban councillor Diana Hoorzuk as ethekwini deputy mayor.
A full council meeting on 30 July aimed at electing Hoorzuk to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Belinda Scott in February had to be postponed after the majority of ANC councillors boycotted the meeting.
Hoorzuk, who served as an ANC councillor in ethekwini from 2000 to 2016, was reappointed as a councillor and nominated as deputy mayor by ethekwini speaker Weziwe Thusi on 30 June.
In terms of council rules, the election could not take place at the 30 June meeting, and was set to take place at the next full council meeting, held at Durban’s International Convention Centre on 30 July.
However, ANC councillors from the faction backing president Cyril Ramaphosa were unhappy with the “imposition” of Hoorzuk, who was nominated by the provincial executive committee (PEC) ahead of their choices, councillor Barbara Fortuin and exco member Ntokozo Sibiya.
They boycotted the 30 July council meeting and are likely to do so again if the move to elect Hoorzuk continues at the next full council meeting, scheduled for 26 August.
As a result, the party leadership in the city decided to collapse the meeting rather than go ahead with the vote and face the prospect of the majority of the ANC’S councillors either abstaining or voting against Hoorzuk.
It is not clear at this stage whether the deputy mayor’s election is on the agenda for the meeting on 26 August.
Hoorzuk, a former National People’s Party councillor, defected to the ANC in 2000, serving as a governing party councillor until 2016.
She was appointed to the board of Ezemvelo, the Kwazulu-natal nature conservation authority, in 2018. The Ezemvelo board has since been suspended.
Hoorzuk has been appointed as chairperson of the city’s finance and emergency services committee, a post traditionally occupied by the deputy mayor.
Hoorzuk was chosen by the PEC because she was believed to be acceptable to both the faction backing former mayor Zandile Gumede as ethekwini ANC chairperson and the Ramaphosa faction, which is backing Thabani Nyawose for the post.
According to two council sources, Hoorzuk has already been allocated the drivers, bodyguards and vehicles that go with the deputy mayor’s post by the city despite her election not having taken place.
A source in the Nyawose camp said their councillors had been informed of the decision only the night before Hoorzuk was nominated on 30 June.
“The stance taken by the PEC is the cause of this problem,”’ the source said. “The PEC is saying to us that we cannot exercise our right to nominate our own leadership. This is wrong.
“They are saying to us that no matter who you support, you are
incompetent. They are not taking our branches or our councillors seriously by imposing somebody from outside. The PEC is undermining us.”
ANC ethekwini caucus chairperson Sibongiseni Mkhize said that the ANC was “ready” for the deputy mayoral election to take place at the next full council meeting.
“We have been ready ever since [the decision was taken to nominate Hoorzuk],” Mkhize said.
“The fact of the matter is that the council meeting did not meet quorum. In terms of council rules, if the meeting does not meet quorum within 15 minutes it must be adjourned and reconvened within seven days.”
Mkhize said the virtual meeting convened a week later was not able to deal with the election, because
council rules dictate that elections be held physically.
“We dealt with all the items except the issue of deputy mayor. The speaker is now dealing with the logistics for the meeting. Covid rules present a challenge as we have 219 councillors,” Mkhize said.
ANC Kwazulu-natal spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela referred the Mail & Guardian to provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli for comment.
Ntuli had not responded to calls at the time of publication.
The current mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, was appointed in 2018 when Gumede and her executive committee were recalled by the ANC over poor governance in the city.
On Thursday, Kaunda said that the election of his deputy would go ahead at the next council meeting as scheduled.