The race for the Buffalo City Metro mayoral chain is heating up ahead of the November 4 local government elections as political parties prepare to unleash their big guns to battle it out for control of the city.
A number of prominent leaders in the ruling ANC and from opposition parties are understood to have made themselves available to be considered for the metro’s top job.
Insiders say the United Democratic Movement (UDM) is poised to unleash its second most powerful leader after founder Bantu Holomisa — its deputy president and long-serving MP Nqabayomzi Kwankwa — as the party’s face in the city ahead of the polls.
The ANC’s top seven, which is responsible for the selection of mayoral candidates in the metros, has yet to decide who, among its four frontrunners, including the incumbent, Princess Faku, will get the nod.
The Dispatch understands that one potential contender is Simphiwe Dzengwa, a financial executive who led the Section 154 intervention team sent to the metro by the national government late last year to help the municipality to turn around its finances.
It is understood that he recently left the “Mr Fixit” role, though no reasons have been made public.
It is believed that Dzengwa, Faku, who doubles as the ANC regional chair, along with councillor and former regional treasurer Ncedo Kumbaca and former sport, arts and culture deputy minister Nocawe Mafu were interviewed for the job by Luthuli House bosses on July 14.
The ANC in the region earlier confirmed that it had recommended Faku, and mayoral committee members Yomelela Tyali and Bongiwe Sauli (both members of the party’s regional executive), for consideration, while the names of Dzengwa, Mafu and Kumbaca had also been put forward for the mayoral seat.
Tyali and Sauli reportedly did not make it to the interviews, leaving the four to battle it out for the mayoral crown.
Though it could not be independently verified by the time of publication, a number of ANC insiders said Dzengwa had emerged as one of the strongest candidates during the interviews.
On Tuesday, Dzengwa said he had not applied for the job, “but I was nominated by the ANC Veterans’ League”.
While Mafu could not be reached for comment, Kumbaca confirmed that he had applied and been interviewed for the top job.
He said he had been nominated by 20 organisations, including some in the political sphere, the taxi industry and sport bodies.
The ANC’s acting national spokesperson, Nonceba Mhlauli, said on Tuesday that all the interview panels had concluded their work and the party would soon announce the outcome of its mayoral selection process for the metros.
Insiders said the announcement could be made during the party’s manifesto launch, scheduled to take place in Gauteng on August 15.
The UDM’s Kwankwa said the party had yet to decide who its mayoral candidate in BCM would be.
However, a number of party insiders confirmed that he would be the face of the party for the upcoming elections in the metro.
Kwankwa said the party would make an official announcement on its Buffalo City mayoral candidate later in August.
“Such decision has not yet been made by the party. It would be made around the 15th.
“However, I can confirm that party structures in BCM have [made] that wish that I be their mayoral candidate, and so are structures in the City of Johannesburg, but nothing has been confirmed as yet, so I cannot say I will be a mayoral candidate in which municipality, or not,” Kwankwa said.
However, a number of UDM insiders in Buffalo City confirmed that having Kwankwa as the party’s candidate for the top job in the metro was “as good as done”.
“The recently elected party secretary-general, Bulelani Bobotyane, who is a former Eastern Cape provincial secretary, and former acting SG Zandile Phiri, who is also from the region, together with the deputy president, are the names that are being considered as our face in the BCM mayoral race.
“However, the deputy president [Kwankwa] will obviously emerge, and such will soon be announced by the party,” one insider said.
Bobotyane said that the decision had yet to be taken.
“We are planning to make such announcement around the 15th of this month, so we do not want to ruin the surprise by revealing now who our mayoral candidate for BCM is going to be.
“We just cannot spoil such a surprise.”
The official opposition in the metro, the DA, said that it would not field a mayoral candidate in the metro and would instead focus on growing its support base in the region.
The party has announced mayoral candidates for the other seven metros.
“The DA does not have a mayoral candidate for these local government elections in BCM,” the party’s provincial leader, Andrew Whitfield, said.
“Having analysed previous election results and the current electoral landscape in the region, the party has decided to pursue a growth strategy in BCM, to better position us for a win in the next local election.”
Late in July, the EFF announced MP Mkhululi Dlevu as its mayoral candidate in BCM.
He could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Daily Dispatch
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