Former trade unionist turned ANC politician Xola Pakati is confident the ANC will win the local government elections in Buffalo City Metro come August 3.
Pakati, who is currently BCM deputy mayor and ANC Dr WB Rubusana (Buffalo City Metro) regional chairman, was announced as the ANC’s mayoral candidate for BCM at the weekend.
A former MPL, he will now be the face of the ANC election campaign in the region.
He spoke to the Daily Dispatch yesterday a few hours after ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe announced the party’s mayoral candidates for metro and district municipalities on Saturday night.
Pakati said his immediate mandate was to mobilise the masses to vote for the ANC so the party’s manifesto could become a reality.
“What will be different about me when I become mayor is that I will make sure that what is agreed upon, is done. We are not going to spend much time planning, we will implement that which the people have sent us to do,” he said.
Pakati’s appointment comes after months of tension and infighting within the party over who should be the new mayor of BCM after the election. The competition was between Pakati, incumbent Alfred Mtsi and council speaker Zoliswa Matana.
Admitting that the metro faced many challenges, Pakati said: “Immediately after the elections, the real work will start.
“The metro must be geared towards meeting the manifesto objectives with clean administration and good governance. We must sort out the audit issues so we can deliver services.”
Already Pakati is leading the Sleeper Site project in the CBD, which is set to change the metro’s landscape.
“Next month, we will launch the BCM Development Agency, which will assist with the Sleeper Site project after August,” he said.
Asked how he would tackle the escalating land invasion crisis in the metro, Pakati said they were in the process of recruiting more law enforcement officers to deal with land invasion and illegal electricity connections.
Pakati’s deputy in the Dr WB Rubusana region, former council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele, may have to relinquish her hopes of becoming deputy mayor although her name appeared at No2 on the PR list last month.
ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane told the Dispatch yesterday it was out of the question as long as the fraud charges in connection with the Nelson Mandela funeral funds were hanging over her head.
“She can only become deputy mayor if the court case is finalised. Pending that case, she won’t be able to take that position the integrity commission decision that was taken,” he said.
Asked what would happen to Mtsi, he said: “The ANC will attend to that.
“He is on the list and we know what we will do about all the people you are asking about, but we will make the announcement after the elections.”
During Saturday’s presentation by Mantashe it was also announced that the ADM mayoral candidate was Winnie Nxawe, giving incumbent Nomasikizi Khonza the boot.
Khonza also faces fraud charges. They involve more than R6-million of taxpayers’ money after she was arrested by the Hawks last month.
Soccer boss Danny Jordan will return as the mayor for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and Nomakhosazana Meth returns as the OR Tambo District Municipality’s mayoral candidate.
Mabuyane said the mayors for the party’s strategic municipalities, including Makana, Mnquma, King Sabata Dalindyebo, Kouga and Lukhanji, would also be announced after the elections if the party won power in those municipalities. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Pakati the confident face of ANC’s BCM election campaign
Pakati, who is currently BCM deputy mayor and ANC Dr WB Rubusana (Buffalo City Metro) regional chairman, was announced as the ANC’s mayoral candidate for BCM at the weekend.
A former MPL, he will now be the face of the ANC election campaign in the region.
He spoke to the Daily Dispatch yesterday a few hours after ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe announced the party’s mayoral candidates for metro and district municipalities on Saturday night.
Pakati said his immediate mandate was to mobilise the masses to vote for the ANC so the party’s manifesto could become a reality.
“What will be different about me when I become mayor is that I will make sure that what is agreed upon, is done. We are not going to spend much time planning, we will implement that which the people have sent us to do,” he said.
Pakati’s appointment comes after months of tension and infighting within the party over who should be the new mayor of BCM after the election. The competition was between Pakati, incumbent Alfred Mtsi and council speaker Zoliswa Matana.
Admitting that the metro faced many challenges, Pakati said: “Immediately after the elections, the real work will start.
“The metro must be geared towards meeting the manifesto objectives with clean administration and good governance. We must sort out the audit issues so we can deliver services.”
Already Pakati is leading the Sleeper Site project in the CBD, which is set to change the metro’s landscape.
“Next month, we will launch the BCM Development Agency, which will assist with the Sleeper Site project after August,” he said.
Asked how he would tackle the escalating land invasion crisis in the metro, Pakati said they were in the process of recruiting more law enforcement officers to deal with land invasion and illegal electricity connections.
Pakati’s deputy in the Dr WB Rubusana region, former council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele, may have to relinquish her hopes of becoming deputy mayor although her name appeared at No2 on the PR list last month.
ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane told the Dispatch yesterday it was out of the question as long as the fraud charges in connection with the Nelson Mandela funeral funds were hanging over her head.
“She can only become deputy mayor if the court case is finalised. Pending that case, she won’t be able to take that position the integrity commission decision that was taken,” he said.
Asked what would happen to Mtsi, he said: “The ANC will attend to that.
“He is on the list and we know what we will do about all the people you are asking about, but we will make the announcement after the elections.”
During Saturday’s presentation by Mantashe it was also announced that the ADM mayoral candidate was Winnie Nxawe, giving incumbent Nomasikizi Khonza the boot.
Khonza also faces fraud charges. They involve more than R6-million of taxpayers’ money after she was arrested by the Hawks last month.
Soccer boss Danny Jordan will return as the mayor for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and Nomakhosazana Meth returns as the OR Tambo District Municipality’s mayoral candidate.
Mabuyane said the mayors for the party’s strategic municipalities, including Makana, Mnquma, King Sabata Dalindyebo, Kouga and Lukhanji, would also be announced after the elections if the party won power in those municipalities. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
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