ANC selects Geoff Makhubo as Joburg mayoral candidate

Geoff Makhubo, chair of the ANC’s Johannesburg region, has been selected as the ANC’s mayoral candidate to possibly replace former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba.

Members of the ANC caucus in Johannesburg met briefly ahead of the council sitting to select a mayoral candidate on Thursday and nominated Makhubo out of a list of three names.

The party has nominated Nonceba Molwele as speaker, according to preliminary reports.

Secretary-general of the ANC, Ace Magashule said the voice of the electorate had to be respected and the party would elect Makhubo “as the mayor of Johannesburg”.

“We hope this is the time for the ANC.”

The party confirmed on Wednesday that they would be fielding a mayoral candidate at the council meeting.

The party had submitted three names internally for consideration and said its decision to nominate a candidate was as a result of engagement with various sectors of society where there was allegedly an outcry from communities expressing concern about the deteriorating levels of service delivery by the DA-led government.

In a statement, the party said: “This was evident considering the electoral outcome of the 2019 general elections where the DA dropped from 38% in 2016 to 29% in 2019. In that period the ANC in Joburg grew from 45% to 49%. It is for this reason that the ANC will be fielding a mayoral candidate who will work towards ensuring the delivery of basic services and prioritise the rescuing of the municipality from the dire financial crisis it has been plunged into.”

The ANC in Joburg controls 121 seats out of 270. Out of 135 wards, the ANC is in charge of 84.

The ANC’s announcement comes after the EFF announced that it would nominate Musa Novela for the top position. The DA announced Funzela Ngobeni as their nominee.

City of Johannesburg councillors will meet to vote for a new mayor after outgoing mayor Herman Mashaba resigned shortly after Hellen Zille’s appointment as the DA’s Federal Council chair.

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