‘New era’ for Ekurhuleni through multi-party mayoral committee

Against a background of poor service delivery and graft which marked ANC-led rule in the City of Ekurhuleni, recently elected executive mayor Tania Campbell over the weekend announced an experienced multi-party mayoral committee expected to usher in sweeping changes.

The Citizen has since last year been reporting on governance weaknesses in Ekurhuleni, which included the:

• Stoppage of waste trucks in March, which brought garbage collection to a halt in Vosloorus and Katlehong.
• Mismanagement of multimillion-rand waste management tenders meant to “empower” community-based contractors.
• Dubious information published on the City of Ekurhuleni’s website on property evaluation roll in conflict with the Municipal Property Rates Act 6 of 2004.

In a balanced multi-party mayoral committee that included smaller parties, Campbell has pledged to “usher in a new era of service delivery and accountability in the City of Ekurhuleni”.

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Announcing what she described as “a capable mayoral team”, Campbell said: “The 10-member mayoral committee is ready to go. “While we are fully aware of the challenges and the mammoth task ahead, these capable individuals all share the same like-minded goal – getting services to the communities, making sure that our budget is pro-poor and efficiently utilised and rooting out the scourge of fraud and corruption in Ekurhuleni.

“Together, we have made a commitment to every single resident and every single business that during this five-year term of office, we will be focused on building a capable, service delivery-driven city that will reposition Ekurhuleni as the economic hub of Gauteng.

“My multi-party mayoral committee’s combined institutional knowledge and skill set will map the way forward – and everything we do will be in the best interests of the communities of Ekurhuleni.

“This multi-party democracy is the future and we owe it to every resident who placed their trust in us, to ensure we deliver a responsive and accountable government that takes Ekurhuleni forward. “The mayoral committee has been established in line with the current structure of departments within the city.”

The mayoral committee comprises the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Graham Gersbach (MMC finance), Inkatha Freedom Party’s Alco Ngobese (MMC transport), DA’s Senzi Sibeko (MMC water, sanitation and energy), Congress of the People’s Ndzipho Kalipa (MMC infrastructure), as well as the DA’s Ruhan Robinson (MMC corporate and shared services), Mabekenyane Thamahane (MMC human settlements), Heather Hart (MMC city planning) and André du Plessis (MMC environment and waste management).

Respected for speaking out against corruption, political activist, former trade union leader and Cope stalwart Kalipa has previously served on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in the Gauteng legislature. He tweeted: “We are not all in the same boat, but in the same storms. Our electorate has dictated whom to work with. Appraise our collective team on the basis of its performance – work- ing together to better the lives of its communities, regardless of their political membership.”

A delay by Campbell in announcing MMCs for health and social development, and safety and security has been slammed by former mayor Mzwandile Masina. “We note the announcement of an incomplete mayoral committee – a sign that the deal is indeed an artificial one, given that the committee is announced after 17 days since the surprised executive mayor was elected,” said Masina.