The ANC has thrown its weight behind Northern Alliance president Gary van Niekerk as their preferred candidate to take over as mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay.
Following weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, it emerged on Monday that should the ANC, EFF and some of the smaller parties succeed in ousting mayor Retief Odendaal, his deputy Khusta Jack and chief whip Bill Harington, they would put forward Van Niekerk’s name to lead the city.
The news comes as the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance, Northern Alliance, PAC and AIC are expected to sign a formal coalition government this week.
The parties have a combined 63 seats.
ANC insiders said the party would take up the positions of deputy mayor, speaker and chief whip, while Van Niekerk would likely take up the mayoral seat.
The EFF filed a petition calling for a special council meeting to sit on May 26 accompanied by the no-confidence motions.
A leaked draft coalition agreement between the parties states that the metro’s new government will aim to deliver basic services as the foundation to bringing in investment and jobs to boost the local economy.
“Beyond that, the parties to this agreement are committed to improving the business environment by making it easier to do business within the municipality, and be tough on crime and tougher on the causes thereof, such as drug dealing, by investing in localised law enforcement and tackling the local conditions which give rise to crime.”
Van Niekerk, who is the council speaker, said he believed the current coalition government — of which his party is a part — would pull out all stops to try to prevent the May 26 meeting from taking place.
“We know that the DA won’t go down without a fight.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they come up with something to ensure that the meeting does not convene.”
He said the signed petition showed that the majority of councillors wanted the coalition government removed and that this was a democratic move that needed to be accepted by all.
“I can’t see how they can fight this,” Van Niekerk said.
“If they want to fight anything they should focus on corruption, because 62 councillors signed [the petition] and there’s nothing they can do to undo an imminent eventuality.”
Van Niekerk said one of the major issues they agreed to with the ANC and other parties, was to prioritise the fight against crime and murders in the northern areas and townships.
On Monday, three ANC insiders confirmed a mayor would come from the Northern Alliance caucus.
However, the party’s regional spokesperson, Siphiwo Tshaka, was mum about which positions they were discussing.
“We are still in discussion with our coalition partners, but I can tell you that we will be signing our coalition agreement [on Tuesday] and continue discussions about which positions will be occupied by councillors from what party.”
Tshaka said they preoccupied themselves with discussions about stabilising the municipality and delivering services to the people as opposed to some coalition partners who fought to stay in government via the media.
EFF regional chair, councillor Khanya Ngqisha, said residents of the Bay should place their confidence in the party as it was their first time officially entering into a coalition.
“We don’t have a history of being at the forefront of service delivery from within government, we have been championing it from the outside, and you can only imagine what we could do when we’re in government as official coalition partners.”
Ngqisha claimed the current government only focused on delivering services in the western suburbs while sewage ran down the streets in the townships and northern areas.
“We are still having discussions about positions; nothing has been finalised yet.
“But as the EFF we’ve made it clear before that we are more interested in service delivery portfolios that will get us in direct link with the people and understand what’s happening on the ground.”
He said electrifying informal settlements and cleaning the townships were among the key projects they would champion.
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