Nelson Mandela Bay’s deepening political, governance and economic crisis has prompted former mayor Zanoxolo Wayile to step back into the political arena, warning that the metro must be wrested from unscrupulous politicians and criminal cartels if it is to be rescued from paralysis.
The newly announced SACP mayoral candidate said he had not sought the position and had initially resisted calls from political parties and civil society to contest the election, but eventually agreed after being persuaded by Communist Party leaders and veterans.
"First and foremost, this is not a personal decision," Wayile said. "It's not my dream.
"It has never been my ambition to be in this space again, but even in the past, it was not about a personal ambition.
"There was a clarion call at the time from the ANC when I was serving as a Numsa regional secretary in the Eastern Cape."
He served as Bay mayor from 2009 to 2013, when he was recalled by the ANC and moved to parliament, serving as a member of the National Assembly.
Wayile said he had been approved by a number of individuals, different political parties who wanted him to run as their mayoral candidates, including veterans from the ANC.
"At a particular stage, I was also persuaded by some elements within the MKP, and saying that, some tried to arrange a session for me to visit Nkandla with [party] president [Jacob] Zuma, but I stated my own views, and then that could not materialise," he said.
"Then individuals within the society, from the different walks of life, from sport, from church people, and ordinary citizens who are concerned about the state of the metro, continued to persuade me.
"Then the Communist Party leadership and veterans came to me and engaged me to say we are under pressure, can you avail yourself?
"It has been a lengthy discussion, very reluctant, but eventually I agreed with the party.
"Historically, I derive my ideas from the Marxist and Leninist philosophy. I have been a member of the party since the unbanning during 1990.
"I've taken a class position in terms of the battles that exist in society.
"Even in the ANC, they know I used to be firm when it comes to ideological principles against the capital, against the petty bourgeoisie. So then I agreed to be the mayoral candidate of the party."
Wayile said no individual could be a silver bullet in addressing the complicated challenges facing the municipality.
"If you look at what's happening here, it's a microcosm of what's happening against all constitutions of government.
"We have surrendered as communities, as different sectors of society.
"We have surrendered the institutions to some of the politicians, and those politicians are the prisoners of the criminal cartels, and some of the tenderpreneurs who seek to run the life of the municipality."
He said the metro’s problems could not be solved by a single mayor, but required political parties and civil society to put residents ahead of narrow political interests and confront what he described as entrenched corruption, collapsing infrastructure, economic decline and political interference.
"When we look around, there's paralysis everywhere," Wayile said.
"So then, the question that we must pose, not to me as an individual, but to all sectors of society, until when are we gonna be complacent about what confronts us?
"Because if there's a crumbling infrastructure, the infrastructure investment is supposed to be a catalyst for economic growth, for job creation, but also it's supposed to be a catalyst or create a conducive climate where there can be direct foreign investment."
He said political interference, failing systems and weak controls had created an environment in which the municipality could be looted, while a government support team had already identified the need for competent and ethical executive directors to be appointed.
Wayile said rescuing the metro would require more than simply changing its political leadership, calling for citizens and professionals to put their skills at the disposal of society and for political parties to confront the forces suffocating the institution.
"We have to unchain the municipality from the cartels, whether those cartels are in the forms of parasitic entrepreneurs, whether those cartels are about the criminal elements that find a way of controlling the municipality, the procurement processes," he said.
"I'm not coming here because I claim that I'm a silver bullet to drive out corruption but if you want to turn this municipality around, it will not only be an issue of an individual as a mayor.
"First and foremost, there must be a shared common understanding or appreciation from all parties that are there."