ANC, EFF at loggerheads as they battle to agree on Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate
An extraordinary council meeting will be convened on Thursday to elect a new mayor for Ekurhuleni, after AIC councillor Sivuyile Ngodwana was removed from the position in March.
Ekurhuleni council chambers in Germiston. Picture: Nokukhanya Mntambo/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Ekurhuleni are at loggerheads as the two parties battle to agree on a candidate to fill the city’s vacant mayoral position.
African Independent Congress (AIC) councillor Sivuyile Ngodwana, who was elected to the position by the ANC and EFF, was removed through a motion of no confidence two weeks ago.
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An extraordinary council meeting will be convened on Thursday to elect a new mayor.
The ANC wants nothing to do with former the Ekurhuleni mayor, whom it accused of colluding with the EFF to run the municipality into the ground.
Despite the party holding hands with the red berets to put Ngodwana in the position in 2023, it also played a part in his removal in March.
ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said discussions with the EFF and other coalition partners would determine who they’d field for the mayoral seat on Thursday.
“We will take a decision and we will announce it, but at the present moment, we are in a coalition. There have been talks and we’re looking at the options.”
However, the EFF said it planned to support Ngodwana’s re-election to mayoral office - a decision the ANC highly opposes.