The ANC has confirmed that it is in discussions with its coalition partners in the City of Johannesburg about filling a recently created deputy mayor position.
Council approved the creation of the deputy mayor position last month, with a majority of councillors voting in favour.
On Friday, ANC Johannesburg spokesperson Mantombi Nkosi told The Citizen that they are in talks with their coalition partners about a possible candidate to fill the position.
While she declined to comment further as discussions are ongoing, she said the post will be filled before the upcoming local government elections.
MGP on deputy mayor position
The Minority Governing Parties (MGP), which are part of the coalition in Johannesburg, told The Citizen that they are opposed to the position being given to an ANC candidate since the current mayor, Dada Morero, is from the ANC.
There are reports that the ANC supported this proposal for the deputy mayor position to appease a faction of the party that wants Finance MMC Loyiso Masuku to become mayor without removing Morero.
“It has come to our attention, as the MGP, that the deputy mayor position is an ANC’s internal political management position intended to quell factional tensions, and we as the MGP are not in support of that view.”
The group said it plans to provide “guidance” to its coalition partners on this matter.
“The current deployees are the face of the government of local unity (GLU). We strongly believe that they are not living up to the expectations, and a reconfiguration is imminent.”
The group said they supported the idea of a deputy mayor because they believed the position would strengthen governance and bring stability to the City of Johannesburg.
There is a view among some coalition partners that the second biggest party in the GLU, which is the EFF, should be given the deputy mayor position while the ANC keeps its mayoral position.
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Does Joburg need a deputy mayor?
Andre Duvenhage, a political analyst at North West University (NWU), told The Citizen that the deputy mayor position in Johannesburg was created for political interests rather than to serve residents.
The deputy mayor position will cost the city an additional R1.25 million per year.
“There is a political motivation, and this is not motivated by better administration or better service delivery and working towards the common good of citizens,” he said.
Duvenhage says the same pattern of creating many Cabinet posts but still struggling to deliver services exists at the provincial and national levels.
“This is a concerning tendency that has been present for a long time in South African politics. We have one of the biggest cabinets, we have huge political structures, our structures are bigger than some first-world states. This has a lot to do with accommodating political diversity, especially when it comes to coalition politics.”
He said the focus in Johannesburg should be on improving basic services and addressing water challenges, not on creating more positions.
“There is water running down the streets in suburbs like Westedene, service delivery is at an all-time low, there is no performance, it’s all about the politicians and not the people,” he said.
How was this position created?
According to the City of Johannesburg, all legal steps were taken to create this position.
“The process follows national law under the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act. The city received guidance from the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lebogang Maile, on the legal steps required to create the position. Council has now completed the required step of approving the role,” said the city.
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