‘We don’t have names for the mayor’: Mbalula says ANC still in talks with parties over City of Tshwane

The African National Congress (ANC) is still negotiating with all political parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), in an effort to establish a governing coalition in the City of Tshwane.

This comes ahead of Wednesday’s Tshwane council meeting, where a new executive mayor is set to be elected following the removal of DA councillor Cilliers Brink.

Brink, who served as mayor for 18 months, was ousted in a motion of no confidence backed by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and ActionSA.

Since his departure, discussions have been ongoing among political parties to determine the city’s next leadership.

ANC on City of Tshwane talks

During a media briefing on the outcomes of a National Working Committee (NWC) meeting, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula confirmed that the party is in ongoing talks with various political parties regarding metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng.

Mbalula emphasised that the ANC is “fully aware” of the situation in Tshwane, noting that the municipality “has been run down over the years”.

He also addressed the DA’s threat to pull out of negotiations in other municipalities, including eThekwini and Ekurhuleni, clarifying that no agreement has been reached between the ANC and the party on the future of Tshwane.

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“The approach of the DA that we should either bring back Brink or nothing is not acceptable to the National Working Committee.

“The ANC is engaging all parties that are keen to work with us to set up an inclusive, viable and effective coalition government that puts the people of Tshwane first before party political interests,” the ANC secretary-general told the media on Tuesday.

Mbalula insisted that a new mayor will be elected on Wednesday.

“By tomorrow to this evening, we will be in a position to finally tell [the public] what will happen in Tshwane in relation to the parties that we are talking to and that includes the Democratic Alliance,” he said.

“There is no agreement between us and the DA about what must happen in Tshwane at the present moment as I speak to you.”

Watch the press conference below:

New City of Tshwane mayor from ANC?

On whether the ANC was backing Eugene “Bonzo” Modise, the current Tshwane regional chairperson, or former chairperson Kgosi Maepa as potential replacements for Brink, Mbalula said: “We don’t have names for the mayor.”

The ANC secretary-general stated that he would be meeting with both Gauteng and Tshwane regional leaders to discuss potential candidates for the mayoral position.

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“They will give me a report. We don’t take decisions for structures. They bring decisions to the floor, we process them [in discussion] with them. We are not a dictatorship, we are not autocratic, we engage.”

“We are looking at all the risks. The entire package will be finalised today between us and our structures. We have got a clear mandate from the NWC about what needs to happen in relation to these matters.”

Mbalula on DA’s Helen Zille

Mbalula responded to comments made by DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille, who alleged tensions between Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the ANC’s national leadership regarding the future of Tshwane.

“We have no control over Zille. What she says every day, how she perceives the ANC and her views about it, it’s her views and we dismissed those views as the ANC.

“If I were to respond to Helen Zille every day, [my hair] would have long turned grey than [it has now]. We don’t run an organisation on the basis of what a leader of another party is saying about your party.”

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The DA leader also claimed that Lesufi played a key role in the removal of Brink from office.

“Zille can’t blame things on us because the fallout is between them as friends. They governed Tshwane with Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA and there was a fallout, now they want to blame it on us. We are not in power.”

The ANC secretary-general dismissed claims that provincial and regional structures operate independently or diverge from the national leadership in decision-making.

He emphasised that all decisions align with the resolutions of the National Executive Committee (NEC).