‘No ousting of mayors here’: Ekurhuleni’s new whip confident stability will prevail

Newly-appointed City of Ekurhuleni council whip Pelisa Nkunjana is optimistic Ekurhuleni will not go the route of Tshwane, which recently saw the ousting of DA mayor Cilliers Brink and the collapse of the ActionSA-DA coalition.

She maintains a high display of political maturity by public representatives will prevail.

Elected unopposed during last month’s extraordinary council meeting, Nkunjana assumed the role of council whip, following the appointment of Jongizizwe Dlabathi as finance MMC.

Ekurhuleni new whip elected unopposed

Nkunjana said it was important for councillors and the executive to observe the separation of powers model, despite representing the interests of their political parties.

She is a political veteran who has served successive Ekurhuleni governments in various capacities.

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“Office bearers are expected to maintain neutrality in council, considering the various arms of government – the executive, legislature and the council.

“All councillors should be empowered to understand the workings of the model.

“Irrespective of the political party you are coming from, you have to be accountable,” Nkunjana said.

‘You have to be accountable’ – Nkunjana

In her role, she is expected “to crack the whip for people to perform in their respective functions and roles”.

“Despite the situation in Tshwane, I am hopeful of a lasting stability here in Ekurhuleni, with a show of political maturity by all public representatives and council being key,” she said.

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Commenting on the key priorities for Ekurhuleni, she singled out accountability. She said this was “lacking, especially that we have now started with the DDM (district development model), which should be approved by the council”.

The DDM aims to improve the coherence and impact of government service delivery, with a focus on 44 districts and eight metros around the country, showcasing centres of service delivery, economic development and job creation.

In line with the DDM principles, all three spheres of government will coordinate and integrate development plans, budgets and mobilise the capacity and resources of the government and civil society.

Ekurhuleni’s District development model principles

This includes business, labour and the community in pursuit of inclusive growth and job creation.

Nkunjana said: “My advantage and privilege are that I have served in the executive and in oversight committees and have vast experience in monitoring the work of the executive.

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“I am expected to crack the whip on all councillors to do their work. The DDM approval is going to help us because if the national government has to account on service delivery issues, it will be a collaborative effort involving local government.

“As much as local government is responsible for implementation, we also need other spheres of government to help us in dealing with the challenges faced by communities.”

Against the background of the ANC’s poor performance in the 2024 polls, Nkunjana was confident about the party’s renewal programme having taken off.

ANC’s renewal programme

“We have already started with the ANC renewal programme and I am excited about the renewal.

“Given the 2024 election results, we do understand that the renewal and rebuilding of the ANC is not going to be an easy process.

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“We need to align the programme of the party and the work we are doing on the ground,” Nkunjana said.

“(Our 78 wards) need to have a standard programme and agenda, where we know that if the ANC has BEC (branch executive committee) meetings fortnightly, there should be BGMs (branch general meetings) monthly.

“Ward councillors are supposed to seat in the BECs, which is currently our weakness. Our public representatives who are the face in communities need to be there to comply in their roles and functions.”