Zandile Gumede to appeal ANC decision to have her step aside

After eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, who was asked to step down by the ANC provincial executive committee (PEC), withdrew her resignation on Wednesday on the eve of her successor’s election, she has now vowed to fight on to keep her job.

The embattled politician was arrested earlier this year on fraud and corruption charges, along with nine other eThekwini and Msunduzi municipality members, who all handed in their resignations in July.

In an unexpected turn of events, Gumede is now set to appeal the decision to make her formally step down as mayor, with the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal at first saying it had not received communication of Gumede’s decision.

The ANC normally takes pride in calling the shots on its deployees, who it expects to obey it as loyal cadres.

The party has now confirmed the receipt of her wish to remain eThekwini mayor, with spokesperson Ricardo Mthembu saying it would not faze them.

Mthembu added that the party would be discussing the about-turn decision with her.

Her chosen successor, Mxolisi Kaunda, was meant to be sworn in on Thursday, but the meeting, expected to take place at City Hall, was cancelled, with no reasons given.

Councillors later received an SMS reading “Dear Cllr, Plz be advised that the Council meeting scheduled for Thursday, 29 August 2019 has now been POSTPONED to a date still to be advised. From:Secretariat (sic)”, IFP exco councillor Mdu Inkosi said on Wednesday.

Gumede’s supporters said they still wanted her to return as ANC eThekwini chairperson, with the leader of her supporters Mzomuhle Dube telling News24 on Tuesday that people had “plotted” to have her removed, and that the processes building up to her dismissal were unfair.

Her travails are understood by some analysts to be a microcosm of the battle between Cyril Ramaphosa’s supporters in the ANC and those formerly strongly aligned to Jacob Zuma, who has expressed support for Gumede, and remains influential in KwaZulu-Natal.

(Compiled by Nica Schreuder. Background reporting, News24 Wire)

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