ANC: Mayor’s future hangs in the balance
The current mayor of Nkomazi Local Municipality, Johan Mkhatshwa, could face a lengthy suspension or be expelled by the ruling party.
This comes amid allegations that he contravened the party’s constitution by accepting a nomination to return to the mayoral position.
He was therefore charged with bringing the party into disrepute and was due to appear before its disciplinary committee on Monday.
Even though the ANC has not communicated the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings, the party’s acting provincial secretary, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, was of a view that a caucus may well be convened within the local municipality in question, and a formal process to remove Mkhatshwa from the mayoral position could be tabled.
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“I can confirm that he is appearing before the disciplinary committee, and we can’t really say what is going to happen from there. What we can say for certain for now is that he has defied the NEC of the ANC, and there should be repercussions for going against the ruling party,” said Ntshalintshali.
On November 23, Mkhatshwa allegedly accepted a nomination to serve as the council’s executive mayor during an official council sitting.
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According to Ntshalintshali, Mkhatshwa accepted the nomination knowing full well it went against the ANC’s wishes.
The ANC NEC had wanted the preferred candidate, Phindile Magagula, to take over the reins in this municipality, following a selection and interviewing process. During the council sitting, Mkhatshwa and the council speaker, Siphiwe Mashele, were elected to their positions with the support of opposition councillors.
Should he be suspended, Mkhatshwa will join the former party regional strongman, Michael Ngrayi Ngwenya, who was also recently suspended by the provincial ANC.
Ngwenya was slapped with a five-year ban from all party activities.
