In a matter of days, Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Gary van Niekerk will resign, an ANC candidate will be elected at a council meeting and a new mayoral committee will be announced.
This was said by ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi, who addressed the media at the Boardwalk on Monday after a two-day provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting.
He said the process would unfold smoothly.
The committee’s composition and who would take the deputy mayor position would depend on how talks unfolded with smaller parties and the DA in the upcoming days.
The power shift follows a resolution by the ANC’s national executive committee stating that the party should assume control of mayoral positions in hung municipalities where it holds the majority.
After the 2024 national and provincial elections, the ANC received 38.19% of the votes, followed by the DA with 35.67%.
This was a drop for the DA from the 2021 local government elections, when it received 39.92% of the vote to the ANC’s 39.43%.
Ngcukayitobi was initially reluctant to detail how an ANC mayor would be elected but eventually confirmed that Van Niekerk would resign.
“It’s a straightforward process. We’re going to do the last consultation,” Ngcukayitobi said.
“He [Van Niekerk] is co-operating and part of the process.
“The mayor is going to resign and a council meeting will be convened.
“That council meeting will elect a person proposed by the ANC and a new mayoral committee will be established in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“A deputy mayor is going to be appointed in line with the discussion and outcomes we have with all parties in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“By the end of this week, I’m sure we will [convene another meeting] to give details on this process.”
According to insiders, ANC regional chair and deputy mayor Babalwa Lobishe was endorsed by the PEC during the meeting after being named the party’s preferred candidate at a national level after she was deployed to the city in May 2023.
But ANC Eastern Cape chair Oscar Mabuyane said the notion that a provincial chair must become premier or a regional chair must be mayor was a figment of imagination.
“The centre is the ANC and the ANC can deploy any person at any time,” Mabuyane said.
He said before the 2024 election outcome and establishment of the government of local unity (GLU), the party had been blackmailed by smaller parties and prevented from taking mayoral positions in hung councils.
“The ANC has a majority but the party cannot do anything.
“The ANC will be told by coalition partners that we can work with you but we are not going to give you mayor and could not do anything about it.”
Mabuyane said the ANC was willing to work with any party in the council.
“We are not going to be picking and choosing.
“We have seen what has happened here.
“So we are trying to clean up the challenges we have.”
On whether Van Niekerk is being told to resign, he said: “Has the mayor been advised to resign? No. That is going to be a culmination [of events].
“It’s going to be congruent when we pull everything together.
“We never said he must resign. The coalition, caucus and leaders involved ... at an appropriate time, that [resignation] will be done.
“He is willing to be part of whatever new government is formed, which is one thing we appreciate about him.”
Mabuyane said whoever became the next mayor would be decided by the ANC.
Van Niekerk, when contacted, said when the ANC had approached him to talk about a coalition reconfiguration he made it clear he was not married to his position.
“Our initial discussions started with them explaining how they were required to act on a national instruction to take over municipalities where they were in the majority and I respected this with the understanding the aim is also to strengthen governance in the city.”
Van Niekerk said though the GLU had not yet convened to discuss reshaping the coalition, he was impressed by communications from the ANC with all coalition partners.
“Once negotiations have been concluded, a GLU meeting will be called and that’s when we will discuss how the government will be reshuffled, or if at all.
“I appreciate they are going about this process.
“They are talking to all the coalition partners including the smaller parties which is usually not respected by some bigger parties.
“We are not hearing things via the grapevine but conversations are held with us directly.”
Asked how a reshuffle would unfold if he had not been asked to resign, Van Niekerk said more talks would take place about a new government.
It is unclear what position Van Niekerk would take, but insiders previously said it would be the deputy mayor position.
Meanwhile, the party is moving ahead with talks with the DA.
The ANC is in a coalition with the PA, AIC, EFF, PAC, NA and the Defenders of the People (DOP), together comprising 65 seats, which it terms the government of local unity.
There are 120 seats in the council.
The NA has three seats, but councillor Bevan Brown has sided with a rival faction within the party and has not attended meetings for months.
It is understood that coalition partners have agreed to the ANC’s demand for the mayor’s position, on the condition that the coalition remains similar, with minor changes to accommodate the DOP, which now holds no positions.
Ngcukayitobi said the PEC was briefed on plans to take over governance in the city and the decision was endorsed.
“We have talked to [government of local unity partners]. We have talked to the mayor about the intents of the ANC.
“We are going to invite all parties to establish an inclusive government. That is going to work for the common good of the people.
“That’s why the ANC is ready to establish a new government. Fortunately, all parties mostly consent to that particular matter.
“It is a matter of days and time to deal with that matter.
“We will engage the DA about their request to meet the ANC.
“It’s a matter of putting up a date between ourselves and them about the issues they want to raise with the ANC.
“The ANC is very open to persuasion but we know what we need as the ANC.”
An insider said the meeting was unanimous that the ANC controlled the metro.
Despite murmuring that Lobishe was not an obvious choice for mayor, the insider said a point was made that when she was moved from the legislature to the metro, the intention was to make her the party’s mayoral candidate.
“There is a certainty that she will emerge as the mayoral candidate as that decision was never reviewed.
“This was made clear during the meeting.
“Any other name would create chaos in these discussions.”
Another insider said Van Niekerk knew his resignation was inevitable.
“The broader feeling of the ANC is we formulate a government with the smaller parties just like it has been done nationally but this doesn’t necessarily mean we emulate the government of national unity’s set-up.”
HeraldLIVE
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